In A Country Churchyard

A long day today as we undertook our annual trip to visit relatives - living and dead - prior to Christmas. An early start saw us in the Wirral by mid morning to see my aunt. She lost her husband earlier this year, but seems to be coping ok. Her granddaughter (my second cousin) and son-in-law were also there, and it was nice to see them under happier circumstances than when we last met at my uncle’s funeral.
Then it was on to my mother and sister. Sadly, mum continues to struggle with her dementia, but she was very pleased that we were able to take them to my dad’s grave as she hadn’t been able to get there for a while. We had brought some greenery and mum thought it looked very nice.
After a quick pit stop for a late lunch, we then went to Dodleston church to lay similar arrangements on the graves of Mrs C’s family, before ending up at Eccleston where her maternal grandparents are buried.
Looking back, I see that I’ve previously blipped Capenhurst church (my family) and Dodleston church, so today’s picture is of Mrs C at Eccleston church. It is a lovely church and the burial place of the Dukes of Westminster’s ancestors, as Eccleston is part of the Grosvenor Estate. They are in the “old” churchyard around the back, which is now closed to any other burials, though some of Mrs C’s more distant forebears are in there, among all the Dukes. Not because they were related to the Grosvenors but because they worked on the estate. We know our place!
The journey home was the usual M6 misery but we did get back in time for me to go to the gym and Mrs C to table tennis. Nothing like a bit of exercise to work out the frustrations of the day!
Hopefully, the rest of the week will be a little less frenetic, though a quick glance at the calendar would suggest otherwise…