We’re both getting on a bit. Geoff has had a bus pass for over a year! Ruth has had a few problems with her blood and other parts, but hopefully this will all be sorted by the end of the year.

Geoff is still driving buses and coaches and has bought a new van for the boots and workwear business. Ruth is still busy working at school (still not bright enough to leave Year 3) and writing her columns in the local newspaper. Can anyone remember when she started, because she can’t?

Anyone who hasn’t seen Ruth lately will be surprised to know that she is quite a bit thinner and has shorter hair – no pictures are not available - you’ll just have to take our word for it.

We managed a few trips away again this year, just by ourselves and taking a car instead of a coach! In February we went west and had a very nice week staying in Saltash, just over the border into Cornwall. This part of Cornwall is much under-rated and we were both impressed by the town, countryside and facilities. At the May half term we went to our favourite stopping place, Glastonbury. It’s easy to remember which week it was - it was the one when it rained non stop!

As we write we are planning to go back to Devon and Cornwall again in October ‘08.

These are some of the pictures we took last year. Hopefully we will have better weather this time, especially at the Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary. (It always rains when we go there.)

  
                                                            The Eden Project

 
                                                      The Donkey Sanctuary

Mum Partis (Emma) sadly passed away peacefully in her sleep, late on the afternoon of Thursday 20th September, 2007. She had been happily installed at the railwaymen’s home in Woking. She had had minor chest infections and a broken wrist, but was looking forward to celebrating her 97th birthday at the end of October, 07. The home is lovely and she really enjoyed living there. The staff and amenities are second to none and they had made her life very agreeable. Unfortunately, after a fall she was taken to hospital. She had no broken bones and was only bruised, but because of her age they decided to keep her in for a few days observation.

 

On the Thursday morning, the hospital said she was well enough to go home the next day and Neil, her much loved carer went to visit, took in her clothes so that she could return to the home on Friday. He and Mum spent a pleasant half hour laughing and joking as they usually did. Neil returned to the home and Mum had her afternoon nap. About half an hour later, the nurse came round with a cup of tea and found that she had passed away, peacefully and without pain, in her sleep.

 

If Mum knew she had missed out on a cup of tea she would have been gutted!

 

We arranged Mum's funeral at The Woking Crematorium so that her many new friends from the home could attend. All the family attended, as well as many of her old friends from Orpington and Sheerness.

I read a eulogy at the funeral, including some hopefully interesting bits about Mum and Dad's life. My father was the love of my mother's life and as I did not do a eulogy at Dad's funeral I wanted to make this one for both of them.

 

After the cremation her ashes were taken to Beckenham Crematorium and were scattered in The Rose Garden (Plot 13) where Dad's were scattered in 1964.

 

The Eulogy can be accessed by clicking here. (Note: this maybe a bit slow!).

 
             Mum's room at Woking                         One of the communal rooms at Woking Homes