A Day for Remembering

The 13^th February was Andrew’s birthday, a very special day for us, and we planned to spend the day remembering him by doing the things that he enjoyed.

The day started with a surprise delivery of flowers from two of F’s colleagues - remembering that Andrew’s birthday would be a difficult day for us, they sent a bouquet of roses and oriental lilies with their love.

Next we placed a bird bath in Andrew’s garden patch.  We spotted the bird bath on a florist’s stall at Cannock Market a few days ago and though it was not a thing we had planned it seemed appropriate to buy it. We chose to do this because Andrew was so caring for birds and animals and we knew he would be delighted to have this bird bath placed in his garden.

The UK weather has been dismal for the last few weeks with much rain and wind and floods. Checking ahead for the weather on the 13th, the forecasts were predicting a 90% chance of rain and gale force winds so we planned an indoor destination - to go to the Motorbike Museum which we knew Andrew had enjoyed last time he was in the UK, and then to go on to the Little Chef for food, a place he much enjoyed when he was younger.

As Thursday started dry and sunny we checked the weather forecast for the day and a short break from the rain and wind was forecast.  So we changed our indoor plans and headed for the Roaches where we were able to walk over the hills. This was another place much enjoyed by Andrew.  Though it was cold we walked for about two hours and soon got warm.  

We left the Roaches as the Sun started to set and drove to the nearest Little Chef, an hour’s drive away.  We ordered pancakes, an Andrew favourite, and drank a toast to him with our cups of tea and an orange juice.

On Friday the weather was back to heavy rain and gale force winds.  The break in the weather was timed perfectly to coincide with our remembering day. 

We were pleased to remember Andrew in the day’s activities – an enjoyable day, but tinged with much sadness.