“So, here it is,” said the great bard Sir Nodward Holder, “Merry Christmas, everybody’s having fun!” It’s one of the great Christmas tunes, too, even though I can’t stand listening to it, along with any number of Christmas tunes I have simply heard too often. But, hey; it’s Christmas. There’s no time to be a misery guts, even for me.
Of course, I shall raise a glass to those who are no longer with us, as well as to those who happily are. I’ll be thinking of my mum, who died in 1999, my stepfather who died a few years after (I can’t recall exactly when) and my dad who died in 2011, plus numerous other relatives and friends who have left us over the years, seemingly even more frequently as the years go by.
I am not one for performing ceremonies for the dead, no matter how close they were to me. I am not one for putting flowers on graves, for example, but I do like to visit Portishead. And the reason doesn’t fit in with my rejection of visiting graves.
My dad’s ashes were scattered at Battery Point in Portishead, as were his father’s several decades before. This was a significant part of his life in the merchant navy, as many of the ships on which he sailed passed the light that jutted out into the Bristol Channel. So did my stepfather, often on the same ship and – incredibly – so did my father in law. So, in historic terms, Battery Point is massive to my family.
I never feel any of their spirits when I visit Battery Point on the simple grounds that the spirit world does not exist except in people’s minds. If people believe in the spirit world, by the way, that’s fine by me. I just prefer what I know to be true. Battery Point will bring back some memories of visiting with my dad and handily there is a merchant navy memorial stone. So, whilst I am not really with any of my much loved relatives, it’s the nearest I shall ever get. I’m looking forward to a family visit more than anything else this year.
As for you, my dear reader (note the use of the singular), I wish you peace and love and for your God, should you believe in one, to go with you. My thoughts are with you all.
My thoughts are also with those who have not been so lucky. I have been to more funerals in 2018 than I care to think about, friends and acquaintances have suffered great pain, suffering, illness and tragedy. I promise to think of you, too.
Survival was all I cared about in 2017, but 2018 represented an improvement. As things stand today, 2019 belongs to me.
Peace and love,
Rick xx
