A life less digital

July 2024

Dear Bev

The winter sun is shining brightly and the world outside looks the same, but there is a less oomph and sparkle now that you’re gone. There were so many trips to be taken; books to read; dresses to buy; people to see. This was not the plan.

You didn’t like to dwell on sadness or stew in anger, so neither shall we. We’ll let the bright memories and endlessly repeated funny stories become embellished until they are epic. Thank you for being the beating heart and spinning centre of the Jones family.

Your legacy is the way that you made people feel, as much as what you physically did for them. I admired your limitless curiosity and compassion for others and enthusiasm for so many pursuits and interest.

Your son may not have your exhausting energy, but he has your values, and your nose (as you often reminded him). Your grandchildren will grow up with the solid certainty that you never doubted in their abilities and potential to be good humans. You taught me that there is no such thing as too much butter, and that a cup of tea is appropriate in any situation.

I can’t quite remember life ‘before Bev’. Decades ago, you folded me into your family like sugar into stiffly whipped egg whites. We will all miss your vigorous hugs and deafening kisses.

Love from Lorraine

Other things to read

• Part 1: To Linz It took a while for me to get used to calling you Lindsay, as in my family we didn’t address older generations by their first names.
• Welcome home away from home I’ve come home to Melbourne. A city that I grew up in then left behind. I’ve left my London home. A city that I settled in but wasn’t somewhere that I wanted to settle down in.

January 2024

Dear Lindsay

It took a while for me to get used to calling you Lindsay, as in my family we didn’t address older generations by their first names. So I met you as Mr Jones, and I was mildly shocked at how casually your son called you ‘Linz’. My compromise was to stick to ‘Lindsay’ and over the decades, you also became ‘Poppy’.

I don’t seem to have a lot of long stories and amusing anecdotes about you to recall or retell. I think that’s because you were an essential background on which the rest of the family grew and survived and thrived. You were reassuringly there, enjoying your tea, flicking the pages of your books, and giving your thoughts and advice when necessary.

Behind every great woman there must also be a calm, patient, determined man. If Bev is an impressive combination of party cruise chip, speedboat and powerful icebreaker, you were the vast sea that surrounded and supported her. We will all do our best to fill that role and drink her soup and possibly even sharpen her knives.

Thank you for welcoming me into the family, and for being a wonderful father-in-law and grandfather. Thank you for raising a son who has your good character and excellent hair. Thank you for being quiet in the noise. Thank you for showing us that muesli can be eaten with orange juice instead of milk.

Love from Lorraine

Other things to read

• Part 2: To Bev The winter sun is shining brightly and the world outside looks the same, but there is a less oomph and sparkle now that you’re gone.
• Welcome home away from home I’ve come home to Melbourne. A city that I grew up in then left behind. I’ve left my London home. A city that I settled in but wasn’t somewhere that I wanted to settle down in.