Few people could attend in person, for obvious reasons, but many, many more watched the livestream of the service. There was one other furry, otherwise the attendees were all from Nick's family. They knew about his more bohemian side of art and roleplaying, and enjoyed our tales of how loved and respected our Ultrafox was in the fandom as much as we enjoyed hearing about his childhood.
When I picture Nick it's often wearing his Yes T-shirt, and we heard 'Wonderous Stories' during the service (as well as 'The Spirit of Radio' by Rush). The song was new to me, but felt very right:
He was laid to rest beside his mum. The grounds are very close to North Weald airfield (where I once took Nick on the back of my scooter to look round the small RAF museum), and light aircraft passed over frequently.
I stayed to consume my packed lunch on one of the benches, after jokes with the family about Nick's great love of food and how he would have approved. Everything there is natural - the grave markers, even the flower vases are wood - so it will return to the ground. There are squirrels, deer, and, I am assured, foxes.
