This rose was a part of the wreath at my Father’s funeral. He was a vicar, and always complained that people always left too many flowers for people’s funerals, and so for his there was only one floral arrangement. Each close member of the family was given a flower to take away, rather than leaving everything by the graveside.

It’s three years since my father’s death and this rose has been stored carefully in a tube since then. I feel that holding on to it is like retaining the negative impact of his death rather than celebrating the 28 years of memories of the life I shared with him. Beth