Blog 5
Of course, this week was dominated by commemorating my father’s life with my two sisters doing the bulk of the frightful administrative tasks that emerge on such occasions. As a family we had got together and chosen all my father’s favourite songs, all very beautiful tear-jerkers suited to crying and reminding us of him. There was no way we could have a service without Mario Lanza, Ave Maria and Nessun Dorma, as these were the things that he loved to listen to. Also, there was swift e-mailing between me and my niece, Lisi, to get together the Memories to be read at the funeral, as well her rustling up video clips and pictures that she duly sent to me.
After the funeral, it was strange but soothing to munch through homemade pizza with ancient relatives, his sisters and what remained of their husbands, and swimmers from the local baths. The latter were not there as absurd professional mourners employed by the funeral directors as part of some novelty option but they came because they were people who my mum and dad had splashed and paddled with for years.
On the same day as the funeral, it was my fiftieth birthday…and the next day it was work…so I returned to a quiet dinner in London with lamb and champagne, baa-pop.
For the rest of the week it has been busy, busy, busy…searching the Googlesphere, Twittersphere and stratosphere with an open Facebook. I have been looking for that great job of a lifetime, wading through sites, frights and megabytes as well as trying to locate resources for spectacular lessons to mesmerize the kids into academic submission via Hi-Tec tuition.