2b1ask1
Special case
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- 20,296
I'm not looking for sympathy because it cannot change what is happening but I do want to share my day yesterday with my friends on here.
Recently my poor old father who is nearly 89 was given a diagnosis of terminal liver cancer, it is quite advanced and they have given hime one round of chemotherapy to try and give him a little longer. In the last few weeks we have had some time to come to terms with the innevitability of the situation.
I have three brothers, as a family we grew up in Romford, one still lives locally one lives in Buxton and the other lives in Taiwan. In 1981 my parents moved to Buxton to semi-retire and have become part of the fabric of the town. I at the tender age of 16 I didn't fancy sleepy Buxton so was left in Romford to stand on my own two feet and it didn't do me any harm.
Earlier this summer I persuaded my brother Ptolemy that hear really ought to be here (in the UK) this summer and he made the trip with his two children leaving his wife out there to hold the fort. Whilst he has visited every few years he has had it pretty tough the last few and couldn't really afford the trip.
Since my parents moved there have been less than a handfull of occasions when all four of us have actually all been together and only two including my parents, the last was at my wedding over 26 years ago!
Between us we organised a special day for yesterday, a gathering of the clan Ford....
Jeanette and I only went up for the day (in the Mas), and we all gathered around midday, the wives freed my mother from the kitchen and got lunch together and with 1/3 of the 12 grand children we had a very pleasent lunch. Ptolemy's wife actually joined us via Messenger video link, completing the gathering. After this we went out into the garden and got some precious photos. We mostly then sat and chatted till early evening before Oscar and his wife left for home and we followed a short while later...
I offered to take Ptolemy and his kids out for a blast in the car as they are back to Taiwan on Tuesday, but amazingly my father came out in his coat and climbed in the car!!! Even in his condition I could not dissapoint so we warmed it up through the town and shot off up the side of the dome to the Goyt Valley road, torturing the beast till he'd had enough!!!! Whilst I was out later with Ptolemy and kids thrilling them and letting him drive; my father was enthusing to the others about the ride - he'd really enjoyed himself.
I guess yesterday was as much about a living wake as us all getting toether, it won't happen again I don't suppose, there is a dark figure in a cloak biding his time....
I'm sure you will all forgive me if I go a bit quiet all of a sudden in the next few weeks.
Recently my poor old father who is nearly 89 was given a diagnosis of terminal liver cancer, it is quite advanced and they have given hime one round of chemotherapy to try and give him a little longer. In the last few weeks we have had some time to come to terms with the innevitability of the situation.
I have three brothers, as a family we grew up in Romford, one still lives locally one lives in Buxton and the other lives in Taiwan. In 1981 my parents moved to Buxton to semi-retire and have become part of the fabric of the town. I at the tender age of 16 I didn't fancy sleepy Buxton so was left in Romford to stand on my own two feet and it didn't do me any harm.
Earlier this summer I persuaded my brother Ptolemy that hear really ought to be here (in the UK) this summer and he made the trip with his two children leaving his wife out there to hold the fort. Whilst he has visited every few years he has had it pretty tough the last few and couldn't really afford the trip.
Since my parents moved there have been less than a handfull of occasions when all four of us have actually all been together and only two including my parents, the last was at my wedding over 26 years ago!
Between us we organised a special day for yesterday, a gathering of the clan Ford....
Jeanette and I only went up for the day (in the Mas), and we all gathered around midday, the wives freed my mother from the kitchen and got lunch together and with 1/3 of the 12 grand children we had a very pleasent lunch. Ptolemy's wife actually joined us via Messenger video link, completing the gathering. After this we went out into the garden and got some precious photos. We mostly then sat and chatted till early evening before Oscar and his wife left for home and we followed a short while later...
I offered to take Ptolemy and his kids out for a blast in the car as they are back to Taiwan on Tuesday, but amazingly my father came out in his coat and climbed in the car!!! Even in his condition I could not dissapoint so we warmed it up through the town and shot off up the side of the dome to the Goyt Valley road, torturing the beast till he'd had enough!!!! Whilst I was out later with Ptolemy and kids thrilling them and letting him drive; my father was enthusing to the others about the ride - he'd really enjoyed himself.
I guess yesterday was as much about a living wake as us all getting toether, it won't happen again I don't suppose, there is a dark figure in a cloak biding his time....
I'm sure you will all forgive me if I go a bit quiet all of a sudden in the next few weeks.
