All things must pass.

A year ago, Mum passed away.

A lot has happened in that year, mostly COVID, and had her heart not failed then almost certainly COVID would have.

Jools was with her when she went, and her friends were able to attend the cremation.

That would not have happened this year.

In terms of sorting the details, things could not have gone much better. The house was cleared in three days, and all the admin done too.

We had the cremation, and interred her ashed in November.

I appointed a solicitor to look after the details, but much of it was done when I registered her death, a service called tell us once informed all utilities of the situation.

And then it was just wainting.

Probate was granted just as the lockdown ended, so we were able to put her house on the market the first week that house sales restarted.

It sold in three days, to someone without a chain.

That went through.

A few weeks later we got some of the money to pay off the mortgage. Anything else will be a huge bonus.

Had Mum not taken out her lifetime mortgage, there would have been tens of thousands more, but I am not greedy. But I do wish that she had spent that seventy grand on something else other than catalgue shopping. All what she bought went to charity of for landfill.

I wrote this on FB this morning:

"Its all good to be honest. There wasn't that much to process with Mum, the person I knew left twenty years ago, what was left was a husk of that person. I think getting the house cleared rather than clearing it myself helped, not to linger over every item I cam across. Saying that, much that should have been saved went for landfill, but as I don't know what that was, I don't miss it. I am sad for the chances she lost in her twilight years, choosing to turn her home into a prison. I am fine, we are fine, today is just another Saturday. And our home has cats and kittens."

In short, I am fine about it. Really. Life is a wonder, and despite the pandemic, it has been a good year for us.

We have been able to share some of our windfall: we lent Jools' sister some money via a bank loan, as we could get lower interest than she ever could. We let friends who the Government have shat on have our old car, as we had paid for it, and we got the new one. And we donated money to an independent bookshop in London so they could supply books to inner city schools.

On top of that, we have tipped well: hairdressers, car washers, window cleaners, butchers. And so on. We have done OK, others have had a right shitty time.

Life is short. We can't take it with us.

I send you all love.