My mum died last year, two days into our holiday in Canada. Although she was 92, and in very poor health, it still came as a bit of a shock, as I had seen her a few days before and she seemed OK. We were staying in the Rockies, out of cell phone range. We went out for a drive and I picked up a couple of answerphone messages, the first saying she was ill, the second, three hours later, saying she had died. Not the best way to hear. Even worse, I was due to meet her young sister two days later for the first time in 30 years, and was dreading having to tell her. What my cousin hadn't told me is that my Aunt now has Alzheimer's (or something similar). She had been told who I was, but didn't ask about my mum, TG, so there was no point in telling her. My cousin said If I had told her, she would have forgotten the next day, so there was no point in upsetting her needlessly. After my Aunt went home, my cousin and I talked about my mum, and it was good to have family around. I will always be grateful for the fact that my mum had made her own funeral arrangements some years earlier, and paid for everything. It made the practicalities so much easier. It was sad news, but I had to be told as I managed her affairs. I continued with my