Home, Eventually

The camper van was duly returned at 9 am,  unsullied  and untarnished as they say around here. (Actually, it was a bit muddy, but nobody minded.)

We then drove briskly to Stanley in County Durham for the funeral of my cousin's wife.  She had requested a low-key ceremony and that is what we had - it was very simple and deeply touching. She was a lovely and lively woman.

It's a cliche, but still true, that we only see old friends at funerals, and that's how it  was today. 

Five of us cousins from the Shetland side of the family were there.  I've not seen any of them since the last funeral (of a cousin) ten years ago. My Shetland grandfather had 12 children, and every time I try to count the descendants I get a different answer but there are still a fair few of us around, scattered far and wide.

 I met one today that I hadn't seen since we were toddlers. He is exactly one day younger than me and I've occasionally wondered if our paths would ever cross again.

It rained heavily all the way back over the Northumberland moors, a pretty miserable scene. I took some shots as we came over the border at the Carter Bar, but they were so grey I decided to muck about and go for the full impressionistic blur effect.

There's  a lot of catching up to do, but it will have to wait a little longer, I'm too tired tonight.