Cheesecake plant

It was nearly the end of the summer holidays, our sons were on a football course and we had the day to ourselves, so Anne and I decided to go out for lunch. In a dark little brasserie we laughed our way through a delicious two course meal. No-one seeing us could have guessed that Anne had Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and that her mouth and throat were covered with ulcers — a side-effect of her treatment.

Afterwards, with time to spare before collecting the boys, we visited a garden centre where we decided that, as we’d missed out on pudding, the best way to round off the afternoon would be to have a cup of coffee and a piece of blackcurrant cheesecake. There was a piece on display that looked large enough for 2 or 3 people — it turned out to be an individual portion. We felt embarrassed to have the slices on our plates but not too embarrassed to eat every last mouthful. In between more giggles.

Before leaving the store, just to prove there had been a legitimate reason to visit the garden centre, we each purchased a souvenir, an unusual little red and white plant that looked a bit like the cheesecake.

Four months later, on Christmas Eve, Anne died.

I was searching through some old photos the other day when I came across this picture of my plant. I don’t know its proper name but to me it will always be the ‘cheesecake’ plant.