My mum was ill with cancer in South Africa and I posted a note on Cif in one of the discussion threads about her life and my father's. The next thing, Linda Grant - a regular Cif contributor - got in touch, inquiring about my mum and dad. I am not surprised that she knew them - their lives touched the lives of many. Mum was in the last stages of cancer. Linda's warmth surprised and pleased her. She even had the idea of writing her life story and Linda offered to help. This cheered her up immensely and she wrote a little beginning called La Petite Madeleine. But then we had to rush to my mother's side. Those last days as a carer were extremely hard for dad. We arrived at mum's bed less than an hour before she died. Hating her agony, I remember saying: "You can go now, mum." She died about a minute later. Then each of us acted in character. We all cried. Dad said how beautiful she was, Chris checked his watch in the middle of all his pain and said: "1.18...
Left wing commentary from the heart and the head