Richardson: Reflections on spring, love and loss

I took two days off work recently to return to England for the wedding of my niece, Anna, in Winchester, a beautiful old cathedral town near the south coast.
Impatient for spring to arrive in Ottawa, I was delighted to find the daffodils and tulips already in full bloom, the cherry blossom trees a riot of colour.
Shortly before the ceremony, my brother told me that our mother had died.Although mum had been sick for years, the end came quickly. Last summer she could still make it out of the house