Victor & Don

Dear O'H dear, Lovely Tea Jenny and The Mini Princesses,

I went to the funeral of Victor’s friend, Don today. The service was nice. It outlined his life and there was a lovely photo montage for the reflection. But (as with most funeral services), it didn’t capture the whole person.

The man I knew had a permanent twinkle in his eye combined with a great gift for telling a story and delivering a punchline with perfect timing. He never demanded attention but people naturally gravitated towards him as he had an easy warmth and quick wit. When he and Victor were working in Libya, they used to call home once a week and he used to ask Victor “Is that you phoning Mary Doll for a listen?”

He was my dad’s best friend. They worked abroad together for years. When they retired, they went walking together and they still met in the pub every Wednesday for a couple of pints. They would both roar with laughter at each other’s stories. I suspect they never once discussed an emotion but they didn’t need to.

“You’ll miss him on a Wednesday,” Don’s daughter-in-law said gently to Victor.

“Yes…I’ll miss him,” Victor replied quietly.

There’s a lot to miss.

C