Golden Cloud Sans Silver Lining

Taking Ben to school this morning there were two black horses by the roadside being groomed and brushed for the job ahead. Their job will be to carry the coffin containing the mum of one of Ben's classmates who collapsed and died of a heart attack. Bravely, the children (their are two), are already back at school but this morning they will be walking slowly with their dad behind those two black horses carrying their mum to her resting place in the Quernmore valley. I always think how beautiful this valley looks every time I drive out and this morning there is a golden light on the hills and in the clouds and I am absurdly pleased that the valley will look good for her. I would not be able to watch that scene without turning into a dribbling mess as it has too many resonances with my own childhood but I am glad that they are being involved in the process rather than (as I was), being sheltered and protected from it all because, without that involvement, you can't properly say goodbye, which makes things worse in the long run.