Mandy , and Freddie

After the service at the church , for Mandy , and the shorter service at the crematorium , we stood outside and looked at the flowers and stared around and said nothing very much , there not being anything left to say . As we all squashed into Leo's car , Sarah said to me " We can all go home and get on with our lives but they can't , they have to live their lives now without her".

I thought she meant Brendan , and Siobhan , but it was Mandy's parents she was thinking of .

Having lost Jonathon at Christmas , I guess she had seen the impact on his parents . I wonder again about Tim and Rachel , Freddie's parents and how they are living their lives .

Sunday, moving the bath

We eat rhubarb yoghurt and make a plan for the day . Two sets of cats , the new barbecue to try out , a bike ride involving the ferry , sanding the bathroom wood , post polyfilla . Applying undercoat to the wood .
And I have a sudden urge to revisit the art at Belsay . It won't all fit in , but the rain battering in the yard might preclude the possibility of two of the options . At least most of the art is inside . This leads to a conversation about reducing the workload in the bathroom . D notes that I have failed completely to attend to the Area Behind the Bath . I know I tell him , I have a great idea to move the bath closer to the wall so that you cant see any of the wood down there . We can just leave all that as it is ! he looks at me quizically for a few seconds . " Its not that simple . the bath might be a freestanding roll top bath but its still attached to the floor by pipes ". I hoot with laughter but he seems less amused than perplexed .

Meanwhile , downstairs the new barbecue is squatting importantly in the sitting room where it was assembled last night ( rain outside ) . Its dark green cover around it twitches slightly . A large boy cat is resting underneath , enjoying the peace and quiet .
The teens ( three of them today ) , have emerged early and are making pancakes .
I ask if they want to see the art , but they have their own plans . " Mother , how sad do you think we are . Art ! "