Much of our Monday was spent getting ready for Rachel's arrival tomorrow, although I met with a bereaved family at Pidgeons funeral home in the afternoon, to prepare a funeral service with them for a 94 year old, who'd served on HMS Renown as a teenage carpenter during the World War Two, and met Sir Winston Churchill, who travelled on the battleship to secret meetings with Allied leaders. Like many others, after demobilisation, he was happy to settle down back home, raise a family and stay in the same job for forty years. Many youngsters are far better travelled by the time they are twenty these days, but is their life experience of consumer holidays and educational visits as rich and powerful, leaving them as content with stable ordinary life?
Rachel's flight arrived slightly ahead of schedule enabling her to get the coach she'd booked on with ease, so she got home, joyful but tired in time for lunch. Afterwards she insisted that the first thing she wanted to do was to walk along the Taff and through Bute Park. She much prefers the cooler British climate, compared to an Arizona summer, and misses the extensive summer greenery which we take for granted. It was lovely to see her so happy to be home, even if we are going through what passes for a heat wave (28-30C) here at the moment. I've got used to hot weather this past few years so this level of heat is just about right for me, while others complain about getting in a sweat.
Annoyingly, Rachel's hold luggage didn't arrive with her after a change of flights in Houston, so she needed to borrow from Mum and buy some underwear, but it wasn't too long before she took out her guitar, checked the spare one Anto had brought for her to use last weekend, and was re-tuning them to the special settings she uses for accompanying her songs. Then, out came her Grandpa's beloved 'cello for some improvised duetting with Mum on the piano. Such a domestic delight!
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