Page 141 - 368603 LP250721 AWY AWY AWY Book (238pp A5)

enjoyed in their glory days. He said that he’d visited Ian about five or six weeks ago and was surprised to see him ordering a four-course meal. He related that Ian had said to him, “I just had a guy offering me four sides of venison but I told him to get lost because it was too deer.” This brought a fair few tittles from the congregation but Dick said he hadn’t got the joke at the time. He also mentioned that Ian had liked the Beatles song ‘Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da’, which contains the words, “life goes on”, which were very pertinent to proceedings, and he also had to stop a few times to compose himself and even apologised for this. I felt like shouting, “Take your time, Dickie son!” but mercifully didn’t. Afterwards we had the Scottish hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ followed by several prayers, a reading from John 14 and the ‘Cup Final Hymn’ ‘Abide With Me’. There was a blessing and the coffin was carried out to the accompaniment of Elvis singing ‘My Way’. Elvis had to compete with the piper, who’d got a full head of steam up as the coffin emerged. Everyone was very polite and allowed the pews in front to empty before they exited. We’d been informed that there were bowls at the back of the church for those who wished to make a donation to Great Ormonde Street Hospital and they were brimming with £20 notes.
Family and friends were heading off to a private service at a crematorium in Woking and I waited a while before ending up walking side by side with the hearse down Church Road with the undertaker and the piper in front. Rather niftily the piper came to a suitable pause as he
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