We hear the news of my Mum dying in Freda’s arms at Redgrave after I spend the day with my family in Norfolk building Sam’s new run.
Mum was a very difficult person but was very human; with sun and rain the natural cycle of her personality, but she was always fun and good company for the children
Though Mum had been in a declining state for some time and had been poor recently with an infection, her death still came as a shock and surprise. The day therefore started with no particular thoughts of her other than some outline intentions to arrange to call later tomorrow on our way back to Paxton. Poor Diana hardly slept a wink overnight, but her worry was that her cough would disturb the rest of us. We all got ready and I took Sam on a long walk to Horning to read the EDP to read over breakfast.
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Debbie had trouble putting in her contact lenses - first losing one temporarily as she squirted it with the cleaning aerosol - had us all searching for it all over the bathroom until Diana found it stuck to the plug chain; and then finding that the soft lens "crumpled" until she held her eye open long enough for it to settle. Once we were all ready, I took the family to Norwich, picked Daniel up from Philadelphia Lane and then left him and the girls at Superskate, the roller-skating ring. It was nice to have Daniel to look after them. Di and I then had a row about her wanting to go off on her own and me wanting to shop together and so we went our separate ways after I insisted on dropping her off in the city centre.
I drove over to "The Giant Pet Store" and bought some more Repnor Gold food for Sam and also some small biscuit "treats" for when he is obedient and good. Then over to the Texas DIY Centre on the other side of the same car park where, after a lot of agonising, I chose some plastic-coated square mesh roll and sharpened round posts with which to build Sam a run/enclosure at Ropes Hill Dyke. Collected all of the family after and just about crammed them in the Range Rover amongst all of the building materials and then took them over to the McDonalds on the outer ring-road for a late lunch. Once back at Heronshaw, the girls helped me with the job of banging in all of the fence posts and, by teatime, we had them all in and the first length of mesh secured in place. Della was playing with Sam and keeping him occupied and Debbie was using the spirit level to hold the posts upright as I banged them in. W
e had finished the wire fence and I was out making the gate when Freda's telephone call came in about Mum. Diana took the call and came and got me, telling me the news. Mum had died in Freda's arms in the bathroom some ten minutes previous and mine was the first call after the doctors. In fact Dr Bawden had only been there in the morning with her condition of stomach upset putting strain on her heart until probably the old-design valve of ten years standing could manage no more. Her original Chorea (Servitis Dance) had weakened her heart all those years ago. Freda, Alf, Diana and I all consoled ourselves that at least it happened whilst she was being cared for by Freda and not on her own. She was to rest overnight in the room that had been specially created and prepared for her.
We decided that I should call in the morning to discuss the arrangements with Freda and so I spent time telling Debbie, then Della and finally, by telephone, Daniel. I cried with Diana and the girls who were all very sad. Mum was a very difficult person but was very human; with sun and rain the natural cycle of her personality, but she was always fun and good company for the children. I then just worked on finishing Sam's gate and thinking about Mum, Dad, their lives and, now, the arrangements that I had to make. Di had hired a video - "Strictly Ballroom" - for the evening and we all watched it together and, once Della and Debbie were in bed, we discussed some of the arrangements prior to meeting Freda in the morning.