Revisiting the past

Monday
The main purpose of this visit to England was to join with my siblings and two cousins in adding the ashes of Dot, my Dad's cousin, to the grave of her parents in St. Anne's churchyard in Chasetown, a part of Burntwood, Staffordshire. Dot was the last of that generation, and had lived most of her life in Chessington Surrey, but she had requested to be buried in the churchyard in Chasetown, where they all grew up. Unfortunately the churchyard was closed, but they agreed it would be possible to add her ashes to her parents' grave. Dot had died last October, and a memorial service was held at that time, but since we are currently living in France and one of my cousins lives in the States, this was the best time for us all to get together. Having spent most of my life living out of the country, I hadn't been back to Chasetown since my early twenties, so I wasn't sure how much I was going to remember, but as we drew close I began to vaguely recognize some landmarks and distant memories began to stir in my mind. We arrived at the churchyard at around 11 am, closely followed by the rest of the family. My cousin John had arranged for the vicar to say a few words, and Dots ashes were placed in the ground beside her parents' grave. After the short ceremony, we talked for a while with the vicar, sharing some of our memories of our regular visits to visit the family in Chasetown during our childhood and youth. We then had a look at the other family graves, all of which are in need of some work - mainly a matter of cleaning the stone and re-doing the lettering, but one of which needs releveling and straightening. The area was a mining district, and the churchyard has suffered from some subsidence, so many of the grave stones are at least crooked and or fallen over, if not actually cracked. It was rather hazardous walking around, as the grass was long, and the ground very uneven with big holes in places. John had obtained a quote from a local stone mason for the cost of doing the work, so we had to decide exactly what we wanted to have done. We knew how important it had been to our fathers, so we wanted to honour their wishes. We then all went for lunch at a nearby pub/restaurant, and the reminiscing continued, as well as exchanging news, since we hadn't seen our cousins in quite some time. It was mid to late afternoon when we got on the road again, heading back to the Eurotunnel and back to France, finally arriving home about 1 am, since we lose an hour coming back. A day of mixed emotions, but a good time spent with family, and knowing that Dot would be at peace, back "home".