The sun shines brightly on Stoke Gifford this morning as we prepare to mourn the passing but, above all, celebration the life of our friend Ben Hiscox. Gone are the slate grey skies of early April, replaced by the light. Of course, it was not pre-planned that the weather today would be picture postcard perfect but if there really were weather gods then this is the day they would given us.
Today, when we lay Ben to rest, is a day for many people. It is about the family who nurtured and gave us this wonderful man, it is about his partner and step daughter who shaped the family man he became, it about his friends in the village for whom he became that well known misprint Dennis Cox and a fiercely loyal friend and it is about a community beyond Ben who have joined us and given us strength during these difficult days.
Heartfelt words will be spoken today. They may not be extensively researched nor detailed but I promise you that every single one will matter and they will resonate with everyone who comes to Westerleigh this afternoon.
No one will start a new life after today. Life doesn’t work like that and we delude ourselves if that is how we think. The simple truth is that we make whatever sense we can from what has happened and then we pick up the pieces of our lives and get on with life. I’m afraid it really is that simple. We play and replay the ifs and whys in our heads over and over again, but we always end up in the here and now.
I promise that the village will be there to sustain you all. I can promise that because I have seen how the village has come together since 31st March. That strength will never disappear and the spirit will never break, no matter what.
And Ben Hiscox will never be forgotten in the minds of everyone who knew him and by many, many people who didn’t. What an achievement that is and he didn’t even have to try. All he had to be was Ben Hiscox. And we shall raise a glass to him this afternoon.
