01/11/2025
Dad 💔. It’s been almost 3 weeks since we lost you. My heart skips a beat when I think about it. I wish you could see how many people have shared their memories of you, told us how they remembered your jokes and your generosity and warmth.
Remember those early days at The Mooring? When we came to blows over my choice of black lampshades. I think you even stopped talking to me for a bit but reluctantly admitted that you actually did like them when they were up. Remember when we were renovating Loafley and I told you we were leaving that tongue and groove in the shop as it was, all chipped up. You told me I was making a mistake, but years down the line, when you would come in and tell me how much you did actually love it my heart would swell. Remember all those bread deliveries you did at the start. We’d flatten all the seats in your car and load you up with crates, probably wrecking the upholstery in the process but you never complained. You did Tescos pick ups for us even though the QR code flawed you. You cooked us thousands of dinners because we worked so much, but you would just scoop us up to feed us so we didn’t need to think about it. You went on many a Facebook marketplace adventure with me. Squeezing chairs and sideboards and god knows what else into the back of the car for my next project. Always only half judging me with a side look and a damning assessment that what I’d bought was ‘certainly interesting’. You gave the best advice. Plenty of management-isms that sounded cringe in the moment but I’d never let on that they were bang on. So many lessons shared from the Spinning Wheel, like your days in the kitchen there had only been last week, not 50 years ago.
Dad, you overcame so much, we didn’t want to believe that you couldn’t overcome this bump in the road, too. It feels like it all happened so suddenly. Surely you were still here only yesterday.
I promise I will keep being brave, I said I would. When I told you one night in the hospital that I couldn’t find the words you said, don’t worry, I can feel what you want to say. And I can feel your words now, too, dad. I can feel it all. Finally you can sleep. Nighty night, I will miss you forever xx
