My More Personal Material
I’m very happy to say that the Science Museum collection team have said “yes” to Dad’s archive that we packaged up for assessment a few months ago.
I’m relieved and I know it meant a great deal to Dad/Richard.
I may post on here asking for some help identifying objects in more detail, as it would be good to get as full a picture as possible on each item, and I’m definitely not the person for that job, so over to you scientists and engineers when the time comes.
Mary
Richard Epworth’s funeral will be on Tuesday March 13th at Pardon Wood Crematorium, Harlow, Essex and Greenacres Epping Forest, and all are welcome to join us.
The cremation service begins at Parndon Wood at 10:45, and then we will all move to Greenacres (actually closer to North Weald) to celebrate his life in the beautiful woodland setting at 13:00.
We don’t need any flowers, anyone who wants to contribute something can make a donation to charity direct to the funeral directors, Daniel Robinson and sons, or make a donation in person on the day. We’ll also have some copies of his book “Bottleneck” for sale and any money raised there will be put to good causes.
Mary
Mary here, Richard’s daughter.
Dad “Moved on” (his words) peacefully in his sleep in the small hours of this morning, Feb 17th.
He had a full life by anyone’s measure, and was particularly moved by all the lovely messages, comments, visits and calls he received. He told me he felt very lucky to have so many lovely friends.
Love to all from me, Paul, Lavinia and the extended family.
Hi!
Mary here, Richard’s daughter.
Dad’s been declining over the last week or so, and today he gave us quite a scare, fitting and remaining unconscious for long enough to make us all gather at his bedside.
Then he gradually rallied, and is currently, I’m happy to say, shoulder and eyebrow dancing to his absolute favourite new artist, Ed Sheeran. He’s been full of joy, laughing and enjoying good company.
He’d like to say thank you and goodbye to all his friends. In his words, “Signing out”.
Anything you want to say here I can pass on, he’s all ears.
Thank you for all of the love you’ve been sending.
The complexity of the additional complexity of my situation, feels like it might just be a distraction from good honest feelings.
I now feel the need to get out of my head and find a more emotional basis.
I’m aiming for a more relaxed outlook on life.
Richard
I’m feeling OK, getting quite tired and am just trying to relax as much as possible and enjoy the view of my lovely garden. I’m still happy to read messages and comments, but might not be able to reply, but it’s nice to know you are all out there.
Difficult night last night due to several reasons : 3 cold walls, cold duvet cover, nose bleed! Food overload.
Awoķe to the most beautiful of snow scenes. Stayed home, uncertain of road conditions. Dougal and Ķelly arrived late, the night before. Just in time!
I had a very puzzling experience following my first awake period. I was confused but failed to comprehend why. Very disturbing.. Was this mý first example of cognitve decline?. All subsequent awake periods (2 hrs) were normal.
Perhaps I should monitor this more closely.
Lovely Chiropidy foot treatment from Tricia. Followed by curry with Doug and Kelly.
Bad news is that the Science Museum process doesn’t even meet to review potential acqisitions for a month! However the IET have agreed to take the collection temporarily.
Mary has volunteered to photograph the material.
Good news: Porthcurno Museum (Cornwall, c/o Gareth Parry) have very gratefully received my collection of Transatlantic cable Artefacts.
Mary packed up the archives beautifully and measured the boxes. Sent photo.
David Robertson arrived today to collect my Alec Reeves archives. He had a very enthusiastic meeting with Mary. Alec was the man who first invented the digital age, OBOE: a wartime bomber navigation system, and a ruthless pursuer of psychic phenomena which might enable him to communicate with an afterlife, but digitally. He was certainly the most “Wacky” guy at the Harlow Labs. David is writing a book on the Digital Age.
Good to see the first of the archive material being disseminated. Next will be the Science Museum collection. A few treasures there, especially when we include all the physical artefacts.
Exhausting day.
Confused by the previous night’s “Ground Hog” days experience, (Multiple experience’s of the same actual sleep/awake period) I arose with an agenda to find a “solution”. I tried fastening a loop of rope around the end of the mattress!
Unfortunately during the night this loop somehow became very tight around my toe, and I ended up dangling in a noose, struggling to get free! I felt like Houdini trying to escape from a straight jacket.
Eventually I managed to get free, and make my way further up the bed, to ponder just how on earth I managed to get into such a mess!
Now I’m thinking could the solution be to use a single duvet, to avoid the excess weight of the double duvet hanging over the side(s).
A single duvet made a huge difference.
Incredibly busy few days. Dougal and Kelly visited, then visits by District Nurses, Occupational Therapist, Lucia from Ireland. Running out of pills, so needed to reorder fast!
Paul’s visiting day today.
Much progress on emailing the Artefacts spreadsheet to the Science Museum. (Final step tomorrow).
Woke this morning feeling extremely tired and weak. Reluctantly cancelled my regular exercise class at St. Isabel Hospice at Welwyn. Took myself to my new electric bed, and slept until 10 pm!
Hoping this is a temporary phenomenon.
I now have an elecric (hospital) bed), which goes up and down, etc at the touch of the control’s. Taķes a bit of getting used to, but I’m learning.
As many of you now are aware, I am surprised and delighted to still be here. For example, I never expected to be sufficiently fit or mobile to attend our annual Lab reunion just two weeks ago.
So I am now daring to imagine dates in the more distant future, as targets in my survival plan (Lavinias birthday 12/12/44, Christmas, New Year, the annual Christmas Curry event later in January, and some interesting Cambridge event during the first week in February).
I visualise each as knots on my rope, focusing on the next one alone, but hoping for more. One step at at a time!
It’s been a crazy week: Dealing with a throat infection (been disease-free so far, apart from the Cancer), having my hair tidied at home by lovely Jeanette (who has cut my hair for decades) after the radiotherapy hair loss (less of the “mad professor” look now, and Wow! so that’s the shape of my head).
Friday night was the date of the annual Lab reunion, “The STL Quarter Century Club”, which was once just for those fortunate enough to have spent 25 exciting years at Standard Telecommunication Laboratories in Harlow, Essex, UK. Fortunately the event is now open to absolutely anyone who at one time enjoyed working there.
From the age of 21, I spent 38 happy years of my life at the Labs, developing Optical Fibre Communication (“retiring” at the end of 2004 to focus on my new passion: the implications of the incredibly limited rate at which humans can absorb New information from the present moment). So when my rapidly developing tumour was first diagnosed (end June, and biopsied end July), I did not dare to anticipate being able attend the event.
So on Saturday night I got smartly dressed, put on my STL QCC tie! and spent a delightful evening mixing with all my ex colleagues. It felt a great way to celebrate the end of an exraordinarilly exciting (and with hindsight productive) period of my life.
So home to bed, and down into into Hell!
The Steroids and the anticoagulant injections, make me prone to nosebleeds. At midnight the blood was just pouring out so fast that I dare not lay down, so stayed sitting upright in the cold for the next 5 Hours, bleeding heavily and continuously despite all my attempts to stem the flow. Finally I accepted defeat and my dearest Lavinia managed to get me dressed to take me to Harlow hosital A&E.
We naively assumed that A&E departments are always very warm, so I staggered out to the car in the dark, only to find the car completely frosted up! The temperature was 10 degrees colder than anticipated, but too late to correct my attire, we needed to press on, this was an emergency!
Arriving at Harlow hospital, it soon became apparent that the entire reception area was unheated, due to the unanticipated sudden drop in temperature. After a few hours of hypothermia Lavinia managed to negotiate for me to sit inside where it was considerably warmer.
By chance the wife of one of my ex work colleagues (who had sat on my table the night before) who works as a nurse there, had spotted my name on a list of patients waiting to be seen. She found some extra blankets for me and I was soon sweating with relief!
Five hours later I got to see a doctor. By then the bleeding had become far more intermittent. The doctor prescribed some mysterious magic ointment, and we set off home.
Exhausted from 35 hours without sleep, I fell into bed, and into a deep sleep for the next glorious 6 hours. For someone used to waking every hour and a half to pee, this was absolute luxury! Woke very much refreshed, and started to blog!
I want to say just how much I depend on Lavinias support to get me through these times. She must be exhausted from being continually at my beck and call. I’m humbled by her Love and her patience with me.
On July 3rd I was diagnosed with tumours in my brain. A Biopsy at Addenbrooke’s Hospital Cambridge revealed that I have a single glioblastoma multiforme. With radiotherapy treatment the mean life expectancy is estimated to be “6 to 9 months”.
Mary here again.
Dad’s still here, still aware and making the most of everything as only he can.
It’s quite hard for him to find words now but he’s enjoying conversation and company and having the odd giggle, and savouring pieces of dark chocolate with marzipan.
He sends a big wave and a smile from his sunny conservatory.