Watching the Wheels: 1st year anniversary

Tomorrow is the first, calendar, anniversary of Eamonn's death. It is a leap year, so there are 366 days. The year has been the worst of my life. The Covid-19 pandemic has complicated the grieving process. So many 'firsts' have been affected by Lockdown and the isolation caused by the restrictions on daily living. This anniversary is no exception. It was expected that QE would have staged a memorial by now. Next year, if ever, is the latest estimate.

I decided that I would organise a smaller, personal, anniversary memorial, at Eamonn's Memorial Stone, at the Crematorium. That event, too, has had to be pared down to comply with Lockdown2. Just one friend will accompany me to the plot, where I will place a winter arrangement in the vase. Weather permitting, we will sit on the bench overlooking the plot and drink a toast (with tea) to the memory of his life and our time together.

I have chosen the plants with care. Each one reflects some aspect of Eamonn's nature and personality, as defined in the Language of Flowers. The colours, blues and whites, I have chosen to represent QE. Towards the end of his time as Headmaster of QE, Eamonn began to understand the value of metaphor and of ritual as a means of coping with that which science could not explain.

The local florist, who provided the flowers for the funeral, is providing the arrangement. She is cutting the ones that she cannot source from her suppliers, from my garden.