My dear friend 'Neen - follow up post.

I wrote of how my pal 'Neen lost her father and the funeral service was yesterday.

This is part of an email she sent me last night after the funeral:

"The service was indeed dignified though there were one or two 'hitches' but no actual show-stoppers - we, the family, might well have been the only ones to really pick up that the RSL address was a mess and that the wrong hymn was played at the end ... but despite that, Dad was well served and would have been proud. The coffin was draped under the Union Jack, his Royal Artillery beret 'over his heart', medals to one side of the catafalque and a picture of him in his uniform to the other, together with miniatures of the Scammell truck and the big guns in his charge during the war. A bugler Dad would have approved of playing Last Post and Rouse, poppies on the coffin and a full chapel.

The other special things was that my son was there, too. I didn't think he would make it because his wife was in hospital - having their first baby, who was born at 5.37am that morning, the 16th March (by Caesarian section after an unnecessarily long and difficult labour). A lovely baby girl and yes, we can't help feeling superstitious and sentimental that Dad sent her to us that day as a special parting gift."

So, as you can appreciate it was not only a 'special' event, in terms of the service, there were also other occurrences of significance that will, throughout her grand-daughter's life, always mark Neen's fathers death and his farewell service.

Funny how things work out like that, isn't it?