Our tribute to Ella - Hula Hoops and firelighters...

Our lovely friends Annie and Quentin have been on holiday in Australia for the last few weeks, they came to say good bye to us all just before they left.  None of us (except maybe Ella) dreamt  it would be that kind of good bye to Ella.
Thank you to John for reading the words so elegantly and from the heart.


For Ella
You came into our lives so many years ago.
A shy and beautiful little girl; we became enchanted.
And years passed and we watched you grow, and we were so pleased to be included, apparently without question, in the flow of your life.
Memories come and go, perhaps of walking, talking of cosmology and cameras, philosophy and rock stars.
Of emerging from the Glentworth basement to your sleepy morning face;
of candles and Hula Hoops in the sitting room;
of seeing-in the Millennium with you in sparkling leggings,
and cooking sausages on a Gower beach;
of making firelighters out of folded newspaper;
of you curled up on the sofa, beautiful and content as a cat.
Kaleidoscopic images abound of you and Sophie building sandcastles,
or flying kites,
or dancing and leaping over flooded fields near our house.
Or of the countless times where you'd roll your eyes because grown ups
simply don't know how to get on with things or cut to the chase.
We cannot list all those magic moments but want to say:
Thank you for being there,
for including us,
and for bringing your own special blend of goodness, grace, pragmatism and loveliness to this world.
We were privileged that you were here in our lives and we will always love you. Annie and Quentin