Bearing Up

I had to go into work today, though mercifully my shift was fairly short.  I felt a bit surreal all day, having spent ages at the photo station in the Oxford Street branch of Boots choosing photos of Dad to print and put into a little album.  They are from various points through his 90-year life, and I will leave the album out on a table for our guests at his wake tomorrow to look through and remember him by.  Neither Mum nor I feel very well this evening - not sure if we're coming down with a bug or whether it's due to feeling anxious about the funeral tomorrow.  Looking at the photos tonight, we just can't believe that Dad's really gone.

The bears in today's blipfoto are in the room I stay in, which used to double as Dad's office-cum-workroom.  He would sit and paint watercolour pictures at the desk in there, listening to Classic FM and Radio 3 on his digital radio.  There are many more bears than these ones on display in the corner cabinet, and each of them has its own story.  The one wearing the medal on a ribbon is called Milbern, because he was made by Steiff to mark the Millenium and because Dad (Bern) bought him as a gift for Mum.  The I ♥ NY bear has a more poignant history - I bought him as a souvenir for Mum when I visited the top floor of the World Trade Centre.  The next time I went there it was tragically no more.