Leicester resting place

 Leicester may seem an unusual resting place for a London girl.

But Leicester is where mum was happiest.

And she had a living will, which said where she wanted to be buried.

Her will said she wanted to be buried at a natural burial ground. And that living will was held by her friend Linda, who lived in Leicester.

Mum died in Peterborough, So I registered her death at the Peterborough register office, which incidentally is next door to the Quaker meeting house.

Peterborough register officer recommended the ketton burial ground.

So faithfully, I went out to see the burial ground in ketton.

It’s not what she wanted, and indeed the car mysteriously turned around and started navigating away before I got there.

When I visited the burial ground near Leicester, I knew that this is what she had meant. Mum was living in Leicester. She was happiest in Leicester and left her living will with her friend Linda in Leicester. This was clearly what she had in mind and that is where she rests eternally.

Showing us around the man managing the natural burial ground in Leicester said that people often like to pick a plot at the top of the hill for the view. And that is when I knew that mum wanted to be laid to rest at the bottom of the hill near the river. Mum hated hills. On holiday in Derbyshire, mum had been climbing a hill as part of our walking holiday with the ramblers. Everyone was trying to encourage her as she walked and they would say ‘just think of the view’. She would reply ‘sod the view’.

So I knew that being at the top of the hill for the view was not where she wanted to rest eternally.

I want to know if this is something that I could or should’ve said at her funeral. Her funeral was held in Leicester and the burial was followed by a Quaker meeting for worship. These are held in silence. However, people speak at them when they are moved to speak. But impossible to know that you’re not going to speak at the same time as someone else and silence means I’m well trained and I wouldn’t have said anything at all so I did not. I was silent throughout the meeting for worship for mum’s burial . But I wonder if it would or could have been appropriate to let those who would gathered there know that is where she was happiest and that’s why she was buried there but this was the place that had given her fresh hope in life. Of course meetings are held in silence I could say none of these things. And I still do not know who any of the people were. I know only that I buried mum in an accordance with her wishes and that is what was my job was.

Mum has a cherry tree planted on her grave was there for 14 years.