W. H. Auden

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

Dear friends
These last two weeks have not been easy and matters have not been improved by my choice of Funeral Care.
Martin only came home to Basildon on Friday, nearly a fortnight after he passed away. The Co-Op, for some reason known only to themselves, had to engage a private ambulance that comes from Scotland to pick him up. This only comes with a driver and the hospital insist on two persons to collect the deceased. This meant that the Cambridge Co-Op had to send a team, to assist, and the dates had to be co-ordinated.
This was all told to me in a jolly, jokey fashion that I found inappropriate, and at a cost not yet disclosed to me. I was even called back into the office as I was leaving Martin this morning to offer me a couple of tags to hang on the Christmas tree that will go up on 1st Dec. Two words sprang to mind, but I continued in my usual polite and pleasant fashion. I sometimes wish I could relax and say what is really running through my mind forgetting my Father's teachings. "Never let anyone see that they have hurt or upset you Princess"
Tomorrow is my husbands Funeral, then I shall be a Widow.
The bright day is done
And we are for the dark
Goodnight Sweet Prince.

What a beautiful day today

Dear friends
Thank you for bearing with me. Things have been a bit hectic.
On Monday I was contacted by the Coroner's Office. Addenbrooks Hospital had been unable to issue a Death Certificate as the cause of Martin's death was unsure. So the Coroner requested a Post-mortem.
My sons and I made what arrangements we could for Martin's Funeral but a date could not be fixed.
Tuesday, the Coroner's Office called again to say that following the autopsy no definite cause of death could be established. An Inquest has been opened and adjourned awaiting the results of the tests that have to be done on the samples taken.
In the meantime an Interim Death Certificate has been issued so that we can go ahead with Martin's Funeral.
I spent today in the place we call Martin's Garden. Martin was not a gardener and until recently could not distinguish between a Daff and a Tulip.
We have a parcel of "wild land" at one side of our house. Over the last several years we have been turning it into a lovely place for wild life. I have been eradicating the bramble that overran the ground and killed of all the bluebells that used to flourish.
I have planted the ground with lots of Spring Bulbs and native perennials. The Digitalis (Martin's favourite), aquilegia, primrose, cowslips and evening primrose I have already established. Thank goodness it was such a lovely day.
Hugs
Cally x

Rest in Peace

Dear Friends
My dear husband, Martin, passed away this morning.
Thank you all for your support during the last 4 months and beyond.
Hugs
Cally x

Gift Box

This is my effort at an handmade gift box for the Art Deco Bauble. It was quite a rush job as my journeys back and forth to
Addenbrooks leave me quite tired.











Crafting with love
Cally x

Tooth trouble

What a morning I had. After 3 attempts (covering several months) at trying to persuade a tooth implant to stay on my Dentist gave up and ordered me a cap for an upper pre-molar. I went last week and had a colour match and today the cap was delivered to the dentist and she fitted it. "Just bite on that" she said, I obliged, and snapped the tooth in half. Amazement all round "That has never happened before" exclaimed a shocked dentist. The dental nurse found it most amusing. The Dental Lab was phoned "That has never happened before" was repeated. I am now sporting a funny looking excuse for a pre-molar (a molar sized down) until we can have another go next week. Fingers crossed.

 This is my most recent project. I made them at a workshop with Sharon on Tuesday. Sorry I have not worked out how to turn the photo round.

The red one is intended as a gift for Ying, one of Martin's ICU nurses who is leaving on Friday to work at Harlow Hospital. I wish her loads of luck.
I still have to make a box for it.


Martin had an MRI Scan on his brain today. All looks ok there. So still no answer as to why he is not waking up.
This was shortly followed by an Ultrasound on his liver. The Doctor said there was no obvious problem but he was going to look at the results more carefully on his computer.
I am hoping to meet with the Transplant Team tomorrow and find out where we go from here.
Crafting with love
Cally x

Little Claire Candy

I would like to say a great big thank you to the lovely folk at Little Claire.

Following the Workshop at Crawley, the Blog invited people to leave a comment on the post, which I did.

Much to my surprise, I was one of the lucky participants to win some Candy.

Crafting with love

Cally x