My pratty brother Jeremy - the one who isn't speaking to me, for reasons which I have never quite figured out, largely because who the hell cares? - has just sent my nice brother Tim the following email, which Tim has forwarded on to me and Penny:
The funeral is at [somewhere in Leatherhead] on Tuesday 27th March at 11.00 a.m.
James and Doreen’s phone number is [number] if you’d like to let them know you’re coming.
I expect you’ll want to let our sisters know the news, if you think they’ll be interested.
Good lord. Could the guy be any more of a dick?
You may note that there is a crucial item of information missing from that message. I have no idea who's dead. I assume it's either James's father or his mother. Not, one hopes, both, which would be, as per Oscar Wilde, careless.
At the risk of confirming Jeremy's unfavourable opinion, I'm afraid I can't say that I'm particularly bothered about this, other than in the most remote oh-that's-sad-but-he-was-in-his-80s-so ... sort of way. I saw my uncles and cousins maybe a couple of times a year when I was growing up, if that much, then at my sister's wedding in the early 1970s, and the surviving cousins (one of them had died In The Gutter in the interim, a fact of which I am obscurely proud) turned up at my dad's funeral in 2003. That's it. Bosom family they are not, in fact I have to stop and think which of the four cousins belongs to which of the two uncles, and which ones have died. I'll send them a sympathy card, of course, if anyone lets me know who I'm sympathising about and where to send it to, but I don't see us hacking over to Leatherhead to say goodbye to somebody I barely knew.
Maybe I'm hard-hearted and unnatural. Eh, well, too late to change now.
FormerMember
Gobshite. What a prat. You are not hard hearted in the slightest. And, as you say, if you knew.... It did make me laugh though and P has a brother along similar lines of prattishness. He used to give us hours of entertainment with such things until we neglected to tell him we had moved. Odd thing genetics. I am enjoying the dawn chorus before the noise of the ward takes us over for the day. Hugs to you Hilary but only gentle ones cos it all hurts despite the morphine pump. I am beginning to think that Mr. Morphine is an imposter in the pain relief department . Sorry, lost the will to type and sooty for any weird iphone spellchecks it has a mind of its own!! Xxxxx oh and I saw the elephant but no one is talking about him;) xxx
Please don't lay any of this at your own door. You are a lovely caring lady going through a shitty time. If pratface of a brother had any decency he would have been in touch to know how you are and how he could help.
You are not well enough to travel to Leatherhead anyway.
There are times when unfortunately we have to think of ourselves more than other people and your priority is to keep on to Churchill until they can give you some answers.
Hi Hilary all the above and what a divy sounds so full of his own righteousness that he couldn't even say who had died.I do not believe you to be hard hearted or un natural I reserve that for those who go to funerals of people they have never seen or been bothered with for years then wail like banshees and make the occasion all about them.And what does his opinion matter favourable or not it's the opinion those who care about you and who you care about that matters and no matter what he thought of you considering what you have and are still going through he could have at least offered some practical help so sod him.Big hugs Cruton xxxx
I have to agree with everyone, too ....... as they say, we can chose our friends but not our families. I go with Odin when he says that you have to look after yourself just now, it's too much to go galavanting around the country - save your strength.
