Candid Conversation...

There is no fun in funeral. Not unless you are a phonics teacher. However, funerals can offer a time of reflection and a celebration of a life. I went to the funeral today of a man whom we used to describe as our builder. He was more than that. He became the man most likely to resolve whatever domestic crisis we experienced in our early years of marriage. He built our extension and manufactured it so that it was able to house the length of a single bed, by enhancing the plans by a couple of inches. And engaging the Buildings Reg officer in conversation, to divert him from measuring. He was a chap who took his family camping in France, got as far as Dover when he realised, with three children in the back of the van, they were one passport short. A strategically placed tarpaulin, and an order to "Keep your head down!" and they made their holiday to France- there and back. Different times indeed.
The choice of music for a funeral is a very personal choice. Some people make their wishes known well in advance; others leave it in the hands of their nearest and dearest. After the funeral, I decided to ring a cherished friend of my mother's. She is in her mid-eighties and blessed with sharp mental acuity. I told her that one hymn I most certainly would not have at my funeral would be, "Abide with me". A total dirge, we both agreed. She said that had expressed a wish for Wings of a Dove at the beginning of the service but she wanted Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody  for the way out as she wanted to put a smile on everyone's face.
My kind of girl.  I wish her long life. (And she's not even Jewish.)