It’s been a sad week – my Dad died last weekend and we had the funeral on Thursday. He’d been in a hospital bed for four years with dementia, unable to move, talk or anything, curled up and sleeping like a cat. My Mum and I did a lot of grieving over that time so when the end came, quickly and painlessly, it was a merciful relief.

At the funeral my oldest daughter and my son sang this song, which was a favourite of Dad’s. It’s a folk song that he learned in the late fifties/early sixties, he was fond of groups like The Weavers, The Kingston Trio and Peter Paul and Mary. “Logger Lover” has a great lyric about a logger who was so tough and used to the cold that he “stirred his coffee with his thumb”. In his early stages of dementia, when my Dad had about 3 or 4 things to say that he just repeated endlessly, this was one, and whenever he had a cup of tea or coffee in front of him he’d mime a stirring action with his thumb.

I’ll post the lyrics in the comments

So, to cheer me up, what are/were » Continue Reading.