Della came with me to see Mum laid out in Stanton with Freda and Alf at Redgrave where I collected her will and papers and then started her funeral arrangements for St James Church in Paxton. A restful and reflective evening to follow.
I was awake until around 1.30am thinking of Mum and Dad and all of the arrangements that we had to put in train. This time, 105 Stanton Grove Park has to be disposed of and the belongings broken up. I woke up around 7.30am and met Diana coming up with a mug of tea for me and we had another chat in the kitchen before the girls stirred. Out to feed and walk the dog and then breakfast with the family before gathering my things up for the trip to Redgrave and then home. Della decided she wanted to come with me and, despite Diana's misgivings, I took her.
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She wanted to see her Nanny for the last time but Debbie wanted to remember her as she was. I got to Redgrave around 11.00am and Della and I went in to see Mum lying quite straight, grey and, by now, cold on the bed. She was laying peacefully with her eyes just slightly open. Freda suggested we stay for lunch and then go over to Stanton to get mum's will and enact her instructions and so we did. They had already concluded that they thought that the funeral directors that acted for Dad would be best and this coincided with what Diana and I thought. Like me, they thought that a church service in Paxton would be best anyway and so I telephoned T.L. Cobbolds and arranged for them to come and collect Mum in mid-afternoon.
Dr Bawden called whilst I was there, but Cobbolds came whilst Freda and I were at Stanton. There, we met Fred and Marie Thomas (mum's neighbourhood friends and carers) and I studied the will. All were agreed that a St James's Church service would be best and so it was decided. I took a nice picture of Mum and Dad for Della and also the games of scrabble and draughts that they had many times used. Then the filing cabinet with all of the documents and her bank books etc but we left the rest of the house for a day later in the week.
After we dropped Freda back off at Redgrave and then made the journey home, I unpacked and left Debbie to tend Sam whilst I rested and watched the end of the televised League Cup Final (Arsenal beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1) so as to rest and gather my thoughts. I then went through Mum's papers, telephoned the Rev Peter Lewis, and tentatively arranged the funeral for noon next Monday week, the 26th April. Up late tidying up my journal for these last few days and then to bed to try and catch up on some sleep. It was raining for most of the day but was quite mild.