We covered him in crystals to sooth his soul and let him go peacefully.

Saturday and Sunday were a frenzy of preparations for Granddads funeral. Friends and relatives started arriving, patting me on the head and saying “so sorry”. I didn’t know who any of them were.

We woke up early Monday morning, the day of the funeral and drove to Napier to buy savories for 200 people. Then made haste for the church in Puketapu.

The funeral was held; long, sad and heavy on godly talk which was to be honest a bit irritating. Charlotte, Renae (cousins) and I recited a poem. He was carried out of the church to the melancholy strains of Leonard Cohens Hallelujah

Mum was one of the pall bearers. Granddad was very heavy but Mum is very strong. She carried him gallantly all the way out to the cemetery where he was laid to rest on top of Grandma.

That night we drove, exhausted to Haumoana where we slept long and deep, lulled by the crashing waves. We woke up, spent some time on the beach, then I made apple pies for lunch. Yum! The rest of the day was spent relaxing, playing and more relaxing in the shade at the beach. Wednesday we fitted a new lock to Granddads shed, we had to force our way in since he had lost the key ages ago. We then made our way out of town to a reserve in Norsewood.

Thursday we schooled, played and relaxed before moving on to Pahiatua where we arrived late at a dilapidated netball court and playground that served as a campground.

The next day we drove to Palmy (Palmerston North) for setup. Bye!