Something I just learned (learnt?). At a funeral today, wife's elderly uncle, 87. I've met him maybe 5 or 6 times down the years. Always ok with me, decent enough bloke, liked a whisky, West Brom fan, nothing remarkable, just an old mildly racist uncle. I was staring at the coffin thinking bloody hell, that's that then - then the bloke reading the service went through a summary of his life. Apparently at 19, he was in Egypt on National Service. There were three of them on guard, three mates, all 19. A sniper took out the first one, instantly killed, hit the second one, then hit Uncle Geoff in the head, weeks in hospital, close to death. The second one had to have both legs amputated and a few years later took his own life.
That's some burden to carry through your life and now I think of him differently.
