This is my Mum. Mum never showed us this photograph, I found it in her bedroom chest of drawers. It is strange that now she is gone this image appears of her so young and I wish I could ask her about it. The woman I knew is visible in this pretty child's face. Look at her adorable checked summer dress with its peter pan collar, her soft blond hair shining in the sun, the right hand that I held as she died.
Who took her to the Regents Park Zoo that day? Who took the photo? Who's handwriting is that? Mum was the youngest of seven siblings and living in Camden Town they were near the zoo but I bet it was a memorable day, as money was tight.
It was an honour to have been present and fully engaged with my mother as she died. This image reminds me of the inevitability of death in the face of her illness, while simultaneously radiating the hope of life to come, of new beginnings, of all that would unfold for this little girl Doreen. I am so sad it is over.
