Death is nothing at all Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Nothing has happened. Everything remains exactly as it was. I am I, and you are you, and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still. Call me by the old familiar name. Speak of me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference into your tone. Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word that it always was. Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was. There is absolute and unbroken continuity. What is this death but a negligible accident? Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just round the corner. All is well. Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost. One brief moment and all will be as it was before. How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again! Henry Scott Holland

In Memory of Mum. You carried me as a child and held onto my hand. You loved & treasured me every day and taught me how to stand. Of all the scary things in life That I could ever fear, Nothing is so frightening As you not being here. But you taught me to be strong And you taught me how to stand, Even when you aren't here To hold onto my hand. I am grateful for what you taught me And I'm grateful for your love And I know that you watch over me From the heavens up above.

So, on the eve of her last journey in this life, what does mums passing mean to me. She was someone who loved, and someone who was loved. She was always smiling. She had a large happy family, and she always wanted to spend time with them. She was one of my favourite patients. Despite her deafness she enjoyed life to the very full travelling widely, both with her husband Oliver and her children and grandchildren. Many years ago she set a target to get to 100 and she made it! Despite Covid. But what made her that person, never beaten, even when the odds were sometimes stacked against her? I think her time in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS). She is the last of my parents generation, known to me, who served in the war, to leave this life. So their stories now pass into history. I want to take this opportunity to remind us all of that history and specially thank her for that service. Many of her generation got a letter in the post to tell them that normal life was about to stop and that they were being called up into compulsory military service during WW2. They had to leave their family, their friends, their work and go to some strange place far away, with no end in sight. Imagine if you got such a letter tomorrow. Mum gave up four years to serve the country we live in today. Without people like her, who were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice, we would not be free as we are today. Many ATS women gave their lives for our freedom and I know she would want me to remember them in this remembrance tribute. I know though that she made many life long friends in the ATS and that she was proud of that service. So the next time you book that foreign holiday, buy that new house or that new car, give a thought for the young Constance, and what she gave up so we can be free today. Rest in peace mum, I will miss you.