Tuesday, February 10, 2009

WE CELEBRATED AND THEN SAID GOODBYE TO BERNIE

Diggle where we stayed on Saturday night for Mark's 60th birthday bash at the Saddleworth cricket club. Really great time, Mark had invited Tony O'Mahoney and Mary along, I haven't seen them for 34 years since my hippy days in Chorlton. Manchester. The party pics are on Mandy's camera so bear with I'll bring them to you later. I got blisters on both big toes from too much dancing and my arthritic leg, well I've bored everyone rotten with that ever since. After the party we left the Hanging Gate at Diggle in snow and ice and took a couple of shots at the nearby canal. Then headed home, changed suitcases, had a cuppa then drove to Devon.
Kitley House hotel was quite nice, I thought the rates were good considering the package, anyway no choice as the funeral ceremony was there on Monday. We had lots of relations with us on Sunday, we'd all made it safely past the snow which lay deep over Exmoor. The ceremony was different reflecting Bernie's views and he had really decided on the format. The burial below was a green funeral at a nearby woodland site, very exposed. wet and cold. Everyone spoke so highly of Bernie's generosity, playfulness, , humour and his love of life and of course his family. He was a leading light in the education world and this was fully reflected in the speeches.



The hotel seemed to get more like a castle surrounded bu a moat as the weekend progressed. We stopped briefly at Plymouth before setting off up the M5 towards home in the afternoon today. We had a couple of diversions as 2 accidents were separately blocking the M6 motorway but home for Quiche and beans by teatime.




a last look at Bernie, taken by me on Bentota river, Sri Lanka 1980, apologies for repeating from previous blog and for giving Bernie a birth mark, droped tea on the photo?? He would have appreciated that bit.










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