Anthea has died. That is incomprehensible, mad and unacceptable. Taking referrals from a wide catchment area, somehow there is rarely much delay before people can be admitted, and one or two of its 32 beds are kept empty for emergencies. All care is free, and it is dependent almost entirely on voluntary donations. And those who've had celebrations since she died, like wedding anniversaries, have pleaded for no presents, but instead for donations to Edenhall.
People are unbelievably kind when they've seen how much something matters.
Nina Fraser, Edenhall's clinical services manager, told me last week that it's a constant battle, moneywise. Cancer's still often unmentionable. Death remains, in every sense, the last taboo. And relatively small things often have to take low priority. Specialist mattresses are a real problem right now.