Remembering Mrs. Braund

In the summer of 2007 I had a package arrive through the post that could not be unpacked and put on a hanger here in the cottage to let the creases fall out naturally over the next few months. For reasons regularly told by those oft-quoted old wives, it was one of those dresses that had to remain hidden for fear of attracting bad luck if it were to be seen by a groom-to-be. This posed quite a predicament for me at the time as there was nowhere in the cottage that it could go that would enable it to hang naturally. Neither was there anywhere suitable for it to be stored out of sight. So I asked Marjorie Braund if I could store it in her spare wardrobe until the evening before Jon’s and my wedding and she said of course I could. I know she often checked on it for me to make sure it was OK over the following months.

Then there was the time that she knitted a dinosaur for the Weird Weekend and I went round to her house to stuff it and sew up the remaining edges, and add its eyes, mouth and nose. We spent a lovely couple of hours chatting while it took its final shape.

Today we will celebrate her life and say our farewells to one of the most lovely, kindest ladies you could ever wish to know.

It is very sad to see her house now, knowing that she is not there, but she will always be in our hearts. The CFZ will never have such a lovely neighbour again and she is already sorely missed.