I attended the funeral of an elderly lady yesterday, she was to celebrate her 90th birthday this month. She was the nan of a dear friend. At the funeral there were five generations of her family. I was sitting next to one of her great grandsons. On the top of her coffin was a photo of her with her husband, he had died some years before. Her great grandson turned to me and said: "Just think, all the people in this room came from them, it's amazing isn't it"? I had to agree it was, until you see the generations together you can take family connections for granted.
Her name is Millie and as the priest said she lived a long and full life. She was also a huge fan of Cliff Richard and so, for the first time in my life I was forced to endure listening to him but somehow on this occasion, it didn't feel like torture. I can't remember which Cliff song she had played but I've found a really lovely one for this posting.
When it was time to leave the chapel for the burial another Cliff song was played. The priest left everyone to their usual quiet thoughts while it was playing... except it wasn't quiet. People began to talk among themselves everyone sharing their funny stories and discussing things, laughter began to break out in different rows. It was then that I realised that Millie and her husband not only created these people but she encouraged the vibrancy and freedom they all felt with the presence of her coffin.
It was a wonderful atmosphere, although when the funeral directors came in to take her for the burial they were clearly surprised . There were one or two tears as the family followed Millie out of the chapel but the upbeat mood among the majority continued all the way to the graveside.
The wake was lively too,with a young relative singing with an acoustic guitar. The second song she sung was written for Millie. She got rapturous applause and encouragement from her family, another granddaughter even shouted: "You've got the x factor"!
I came home feeling completely inspired and happy It's nice to see that not everyone feels they need to stick to protocol. These type of funerals are definitely feeling natural to more and more people.
I dedicate this blog to someone who certainly did not conform to protocol, my dear Aunt Gotty John.
