The day finally came - She was going to live forever (and, of course, does in so many ways), but reality meant we had to make arrangements to say goodbye to this extraordinary lady. I discovered I loved planning the Order of Service - a creative way of honouring her life in so short a space of time. I'd heard of 'Wedding Planners' - was there such a thing as a Funeral Planner - in quite the same way? I will never forget the chest-reverberating notes of the deep, deep Russian bass voice singing the beginning of Rachmaninov's 'Vespers - All Night Vigil', which I'd chosen to accompany her entrance down the aisle of the little chapel: powerful sense of awe felt deep within the body. I included the poem I'd written about her leaving Ossetia - making her way to England via Berlin & Austria. I so wish I'd at least dared to try to read it myself. My brother, Mark, included a piece of music he'd composed. Perfect.
