Who Knows...

A funeral is always time for introspection, and Sandra's tomorrow makes no exception. Although the four of us: John & Sandra, Jane & I, have lived at distance for many years, with occasional contact and visits, we have remained friends, and in recent years rekindled contact through an annual lunch out at The Cross Foxes, near Dolgellau; about halfway between our homes, during which time Sandra's health was deteriorating, until her recent death. Back in the early days of their relationship, they bought the house that John still lives in, after we had, in turn, bought John's old house in Gerlan, North Wales, some forty-three years ago. The following year, the four of us travelled to France for a holiday, staying at a gîte in St. Jean-Le-Vieux, which seems simultaneously like yesterday and a million years ago. So many of the memories of that time are as fresh as if they had just been made. As Sandy Denny had it: 'Across the evening sky - All the birds are leaving - But how can they know - It's time for them to go?'