Today is my father's birthday. This is both a sad and a happy occasion because he died on the16th June last year. My mother and I have placed a bouquet of white flowers next to his photograph and we will be thinking of him throughought the day. We will remember him as he was when he was still strong and healthy. He was a good man, a man who loved to cherish things and to watch them grow. May he have found lasting peace and a release from constant pain.
Today, too, I have heard that Words with JAM are to publish four of my poems as a small collection at the end of this month. This is a new outlet for me which is always exciting. As soon as the poems become availabe, I will add a link.
I have also heard from 'One Million Stories' that my story 'On Walking Carne Brae' is to be included in their annual 'best of' anthology so my thanks go to the editors there.
All this is helping me to 'come back to life' following the tragic loss of my sister-in-law and very best friend, the lovely Estefania Maria Garcia Poole who lost her ten year battle with breast cancer on the 5th February this year. Among my photographs are those taken at last summer's 'Race for Life'. She leaves two sons, Samuel and Miguel, and the husband to whom she was devoted. She will be missed by many and always in the hearts of those who loved her dearly.
