A Sad Day

Our visitors never arrived yesterday, due to the bad weather - they set off but turned back due to dense fog.  It was disappointing as we had a meal planned for tonight, but in some respects it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  

This morning I received a phone call from Ann, my cousin's wife to let me know that Aunty Nan had died at 8am this morning.  Those of you who follow me, will know that she's been struggling for some time, and she had another chest infection which turned to pneumonia.  Pete and Ann were called to the hospital at 5am so were with her and said she went to sleep and passed away peacefully.

I was worried about mum being on her own and phoned and asked her if she'd like to come to Brighton if I could arrange to get her on a train.  She was naturally heartbroken as her and Aunty Nan were very close.  Within about 30 mins, I had her booked on a train from Stockport to London, and then a train to Brighton, and I said I'd travel into London to meet her and travel back to Brighton with her.  I also contacted Virgin trains who arranged travel assistance, on and off the train.

I arrived at St Pancras International an hour before mum was due to arrive at Euston, so I went and sat at the champagne bar and raised a glass to Aunty Nan.  I then walked to Euston which is only half a mile away - fortunately her train was on time, and then we walked back to St Pancras and got straight on a train back to Brighton.

The Shard looked lovely lit up, so I tried to get some  photos of it, but that wasn't very easy travelling at speed.  Just as I took this shot, we passed some trees which have caused the abstract look, but which I think has actually worked very well, and quite appropriate as today has been a bit of a blur! And if you look closely, I think you can see angel's wings at the top of the Shard....

It's not exactly the New Years Eve that we had planned, but mum's here and that's all that matters.  We're having a quiet night together and will raise another glass to Aunty Nan at midnight.

Happy New Year to you all, I hope 2017 is a happy and healthy year for you!