A special place

Today I said goodbye to a very special aunt. Elsie was the remaining one of three East End sisters, the eldest was my mother, who died when she was 56 - many years ago.

As a child, I lived in Hackney, East London and spent every summer with my cousins "in the country". What fun and freedom we had. They taught me to ride a bike, we climbed trees in Oxhey Woods, and being an only child I loved being part of a big family. We also went on holidays together. I have wonderful memories of camping in Cornwall having spent a night to get there in my Uncle's Ford Cortina.

When my mother died, my aunt was a great support and loved seeing my own children. She knitted them wonderful multicoloured sweaters which they wore to school even though they won't part of a uniform I did not agree with.

This afternoon I gathered with two of those three cousins - sadly the youngest was too ill to attend - and their extended families at a lovely service at West Herts Crematorium.

We gathered afterwards at a nearby hotel to exchange memories and stories.And we had a few funny tales to tell. It's a sad fact that most of us only meet up at funerals.

My blip is of the Babies and Infants Memorial Garden at the Crematorium. A very peaceful place.