For Janice….

… who we said our formal goodbyes to today.

We met when we were colleagues at both Croham Hurst and Old Palace schools. She was part of the After School Care team and as I was leaving at the end of my day, she would be organising the girls with the homework or playing games with them. I often stopped by and joined in for a while and so we became friends, sharing, listening, laughing together. She had a quiet, gentle nature yet an authority the girls respected and they loved her.

Then life takes a different turn and we sadly lost direct contact. To hear from another ex colleague that Janice had died from a brain tumour was so sad. To hear that she’d asked that I be told and that she’d like me to be at her funeral, was very humbling. To share my happy memories of her today with her family and friends I have never met, was a privilege.

And that’s been enough for today really.