A Funeral :-(

After the blog about being mugged, i was planning on updating on the rest of the summer, but today i was at a funeral and i feel i need to mention that first.
It was a family friend, one of my dad's best mates from their childhood, so someone i've known all my life. He was 77 and suffering dementia. His son had moved to Bristol and married many years ago, so he and his wife moved there themselves eventually. Sadly his dementia was already noticeable by then, and ultimately he had to go into a home.

Dementia is such an awful thing as it so often takes away the person everyone knows and loves. In some ways Peter managed to keep something of himself. One of the staff from the home he stayed in talked at the funeral of the humour he'd brought with him. He spoke very fondly of a man he'd never really known, but had known in a way most of us hadn't known properly. The staff obviously thought a great deal of Peter, and his family that had to see him slowly retreat into this other life.

Although he obviously did get worse over time, he still had the chance to get to see his young granddaughter. Apparently he brightened up every time she was taken to visit. There was still a spark there deep within.

For me i remember Peter for his humour, he was always trying to wind people up with a joke. He loved his sport, whether watching Derby County play football, or getting a team together for the youngsters in the village where they lived. It was during a week staying there that got me playing for them for a season. When staying there we'd always end up playing football or cricket on the lawn.
Peter was also part of a group (including my dad) that played tennis every Monday evening during the summer, something that has only recently ended. He also loved walking. As a kid our families would head out into the countryside from time to time, and if we were on holiday together then we'd perhaps head off walking in that area. We did Ben Nevis one year when up in Scotland. A stunning view you get from up there.
This, and more, was what Ian, the son, spoke of during the funeral. They were close as a family, and Ian did his dad justice today.

So tonight my thoughts are with Ian, his mum Maureen, and his wife Emma, and all those who knew Peter. As sad as it is that he died, i guess it was time. You don't recover from dementia, and so there comes a time when it has to end.

Goodbye Uncle Peter, you were a decent man who saw the best in people, a man with no nastiness, but one with good humour and a good nature.

P.T.