First things first though, as next of kin my daughter had her fathers (my first husbands) funeral to organise. By the time I arrived most of it was sorted out and there was just loose ends to get sorted. I have to say that I was appalled how much a funeral costs, every person involved seemed determined to make money from someones loss. Even the relief vicar of the church my ex used to go to, was out to make money !! After hearing the ceremony I can tell you he wasn't worth the money !!! He repeated himself and obviously hadn't listened to a word that was said about my ex, as a good part of the speech he gave about him was totally unrelated. Incidentally whoever is in charge of Oakley Woods Crematorium your ceilings in South chapel need a dammed good clean ...the size of the cobwebs in there are massive !! As my ex and I stayed friends even though we parted many years ago, I wanted to go and say goodbye to the old bugger, and also met up with my brother and sister in law as I hadn't seen them for years. When we arrived I was really pleased to see my brother in laws wife there, I knew she'd been ill so wasn't expecting to see her there. She and I got along so well way back then, and it was as though we'd seen each other last week. My daughter spoke at the funeral as she wanted to say a few words about her dad, I knew she'd get upset but I was really proud of her, she spoke of the real man, rather than the clap trap the vicar spoke about him, and tears were shed by plenty of the people that were there.
After a day to recover from the previous 3 weeks of organising the funeral and the stress of having to clear out his flat, my daughter was more than ready for a few adventures !! As always high on the list of things to do was to go and visit my son Ben and our friends Martin and Mandy to catch up with their news. Martin and Mandy have had all their garden redone and it's looking amazing. My son whisked us all off for a lunchtime meal at the Big Wok in Birmingham, as always the food was gorgeous. We also went to visit various friends while I was there including Vicky and Julian in Rugby some friends I know from a forum we both use.
But the highlight of my whole trip was going to met my friend Ray at long last. Ray and I have been emailing each other for the last 2 years, and have tried to met up quite a few times. But with him living on a barge and travelling the length and breadth of the UK in it, we weren't always in the same area at the same time. Plus nerves got the better of me more than a few times I have to admit, and I chickened out even when we were in the same area at the same time. On hindsight, I really regret missing out on spending more time with him due to nerves, all those other times. He was a lovely guy, and I was at ease with him straight away. He has converted his barge very cleverly, not only to cater for his glass bead making by adding extra space at the end of the barge for his workshop and a shop frontage to sell his beads and the many things he makes with them. But also to allow for the fact that he's 6ft 5" and needed extra height. This was an added plus for me too as I'm 6ft 2" ... I have to say it's very rare for me to have to look up to a guy, but this is one guy I'm more than happy to look up to lol :o)Time passed really quickly and all too soon it was time to go, we've already arranged to met up next time we're in the same area's.Also I'll take photo's of his workshop and beautiful beads he makes. In the meantime here's 3 pics I took while I was there this time, including one of his cute little dog Bob.
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