addendum

I wanted to let you know about the doggerelist’s memorial service for completeness and to thank you all who have felt inspired to share your thoughts and feelings in this relatively public place. I am very thankful for these kind words.

His memorial will take place on Tuesday 26 August at Exeter and Devon Crematorium in the St Peter Chapel at 3.30pm. The service will be held in the humanist tradition and I hope I can convince the official to read some of Steve’s lighthearted and silly works (my favourite at the moment is ‘A mole by any other name’ which in truth is a collaboration with our dear Mishari).

Please do not feel pressed to attend. I think Steve would be happy to have a few jars raised in his name at any appropriate time. I know he left me instructions to ‘be happy and have fun’ and ‘take care of myself’ a couple of years ago when he thought his illness was moving in that direction. I will try my best to keep the promise I made, but it may take a while.

I have found a few unpublished items in his Drafts section but he obviously didn’t feel these were up to his own standards and so I shall respect his judgement. I have also found some poems handwritten that spoke powerfully of his struggle to live with his illness. I know he did not espouse ‘poetry as therapy’ but he crystallized his thoughts and situation. I can only say ‘You can but thank you for choosing not to’.

I will leave comments open for a while for those who might wish to propose other verses written by the doggerelist. I am also aware that there are other gems that have not been gathered in. Should you locate one I would appreciate a brief note of where to find it.

Please take care of yourselves.
Mrs cs.

In loving memory

It falls to me to write the last post for the doggerelist. He died in the early hours of this morning. He was a wonderfully intelligent man who was cruelly cut down by illness the last years of his life. I know he enjoyed greatly the intellectual challenge that the real poets and scholars presented to him. He couldn’t always follow you but he loved the banter. He left no written instructions but had mentioned something about King Crimson Starless and Bible Black – so if you ever hear it playing please spare a moment to remember the doggerelist.

Mrs cs aka doggerelist