Well January was very January wasn’t it? It’s never been a favourite on the calendar but with the high-profile celebrity deaths this last month, it was a gloomy start to 2016. It gave us more reason to hate it. Poor January. It’s like Mondays. You can always rely on a good death on a Monday and of course, it was a Monday when we woke to find out that David Bowie had died, without doubt the biggest celebrity death of the month and will probably be for the year. Unless the Queen croaks it. Although, to me, she could never topple Bowie.
That was swiftly followed by Alan Rickman dying and just as we wished January away, off popped Terry Wogan before we could say, ‘blankety blank.’ Reading social media and the outpouring of grief in all those circumstances, it read like an endless stream of death, with people speculating, ‘who’s next?’
Well I hate to break this to you but death is all around. It’s happening all the time. It might not be a famous person but just as we are welcoming new faces in, we’re waving old faces off. And this will continue, until our time is up. Yes, you and me. We’re going to die. Sorry, I didn’t want to have to tell you this way but that’s the way it is.
Were the three high-profile deaths really that shocking this month though? I mean, yes, don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t a classic month for living but if you are my generation (forties but look ten years younger), we’re moving in to that realm. It only seems like yesterday that I was trying to avoid all the weddings happening. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good wedding but the frequency of weddings was not conducive with my suit collection (I have one).
Now, ten years on, I would kill for a wedding. I’m even considering renewing my vows, just to experience a wedding atmosphere again. My reality at the moment is illness, deaths and funerals. It’s happening with alarming regularity and I’m guessing that’s only going to get worse. It’s a harsh reality of life, where once we sent and received birthday cards from our loved ones, we’re going to hit a stage where we are burying them. What a depressing thought. But that’s life and death, is it not?
I bought some flowers for me wife the other week (I was in the dog house). They were beautiful. They are now in the kitchen, wilting, withering and slowly dying. We all are, in our own way. This may all sound dark and a bit harsh but I think if we were more accepting of the inevitable in this country and this culture, we wouldn’t be in so much shock when death finally arrives. It’s the cycle of life. And as much as you may peddle forward, head bowed, oblivious to your own mortality, sooner or later, you’re going to come off.
Apologies, if you were hoping for a feel-good blog. Next week, I promise I’ll talk about kittens.
