First of all I slept late….at least until 6am when my cricket alarm woke me up.

Then I went off mural painting and discovered when I returned that I’d left the door open.

I spent some time preparing for art class and printing out reference photos for the mural.

I went out to water the flowers and then I heard that Nella , my neighbour had died about 3pm.

We had quite a history. Though I haven’t seen so much of her in the last few years. And I didn’t know she was so ill.

When I first bought this house and came to work here every day she used to cook for me.

She would shout down from upstairs and then lower down food in a plastic bag on the end of a piece of string. In winter there was also coffee in a pot and in summer , ice cream.

She talked a lot ,and I understood enough to know roughly what she was saying.

She met some of my family when they came to visit.

I would have liked to have got to know her better. She grew up in my house, before she moved upstairs.

It will not be the same without her.

In memory of Nella Mappa. 🍷🍷