 Here yesterday was my old friend, (a local widow). She lives alone with a dog, a cat and a goose for company, and is I suspect very lonely. She was living with a fellow called 'Puffing Billy' - an old ex- army man who served in World War 2.
An alcoholic who smoked like a chimney, he died just over a year ago. I was the only local man who could understand him, for he spoke in a very strong scouse (Liverpool) accent, and because he was continually drunk, he slurred his words too!
Clare and I accompanied the widow to his cremation. He was 76 when he died. In spite of only having one lung - he smoked cigarettes like a chimney - in the end of course he himself became transfigured into smoke and curled lazily up the crematoria chimney, to be dispersed into the North West atmosphere in tiny particles of carbon.The grey-blue fumes looked peculiarly like cigarette-smoke! On the other hand, I may have been simply imagining it?
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