Joan James
(1929-2019)
I have sad news for you all, I'm afraid: Corinna's Mother, known to everyone whether they were related to her or not, as just "Mother", died peacefully at about 2:30 this morning. It was far from being unexpected, but there is a bloody great mother-shaped hole in my life which will never be filled. There are all sorts of clichés about how men are not supposed to get on with their mothers-in-law, but I adored Mother from the first time we met, and even though her health declined rapidly due to vascular dementia, she and I still enjoyed each other's company up to a few days before the end. It was a privilege to have known her, and because I was estranged from my own Mother when she died, she gave me a second chance to explore feelings that I never thought I would ever get the chance to experience again.
"All is well.
Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before.
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!
Henry Scott Holland"
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