Maija

Most of today was spent attending the funeral and reception for Maija, the wife of my long-standing colleague. She was Finnish, non-religious and always organised so, knowing that she was dying,  she had defined distinctive components of the service. Although it was very sad, it was beautiful, striking a fine balance between acknowledging the sorrow of her passing and celebrating her life. There were accounts of her life in Finland from her brother, and in Scotland from a dear friend, music specially-composed and played by a professional fiddler who was close to the couple, and a poem read in both Finnish and English. Just before the committal a wonderful Finnish tradition was observed in which individuals or groups would take turns to place a single flower on the coffin and speak a few words in tribute. It was also touching to see two of the PhD students who graduated yesterday attending the funeral of their supervisor's wife. 

For the reception we squeezed into a room at Prestonfield House, and took time to chat about Maija, and catch up with people we've got to know through her over the years. Of course funerals remind us all of other people we've lost over the years, and in the pocket of my dark suit I found a rail ticket from 2016 - when I attended the funeral of my PhD supervisor.