Harold Lock

The world is a sadder place. Our dear, dear friend Harold Lock died at 84 a week or so ago.

How can I explain about Harold. He was the Dad every one would love to have, he was the man every boy wanted to be.

Harold owned and ran the fish & chip shop here in East Harling with his wife Enid for years. He was on every committee, he rang the bells at Church & sang in the choir. He was gracious and loving, cheeky and fun, he was interested in everything. He was a marvelous gardener an apiarist and a keen cyclist. If you talked to a thousand people in Harling about Harold, you wouldn't find one with a bad word to say about him.

This is the only photo I can find of him, giving the speech at Richard's 60th birthday last year. He and Enid were at our wedding 5 years ago and Richard always said Harold was his mentor.

The funeral was today and I don't think there's ever been more people in the Church here, standing room only and more than 350.

I knew it would be hard singing in the choir looking out at Enid & all his family & friends.

There was an amazing air of reverence as we walked down through the congregation to our choir stalls. The opening sentence of the first hymn 'Praise my soul the King of Heaven' nearly lifted the roof. I started to cry as I remembered Harold turning to smile from his pew as you walked down the aisle. I always walked a little slower when I got to him to hear his lovely tenor voice.

When my Dad died so far away in Australia I asked if I could sit with Harold & Enid at Church that day and I felt so comforted just being near them.

Most of the time as I was singing today I was mouthing the words as my voice just wouldn't work, lucky there were so many to carry the tune. We rang the bells half muffled as everyone walked out, it's an amazing sound as the bell sounds on one side and thuds on the other. We stood them one by one finally leaving the tenor to toll alone.

At the reception afterwards I talked to his daughter Mary who told me that during the last hymn her daughter had nudged her and whispered 'Look'. There was a honey bee on the flowers just next to them.... It's miles too cold for bees at the moment and I've not seen any in Church for months. One of Harolds had come to say goodbye.

Bless you Harold and thank you for all the Joy you brought into the world.