"Ecumenical" is a

curious word - the general definition of "representing a number of Christian churches" was not really appropriate yesterday because the gathering was much wider than that.

We said farewell to our beloved Senior Cat yesterday. We did it in a church but the people gathered there came from many places, many faiths, and no faiths. They were young and old. The youngest was five - and yes, he understood in his own way and wanted to be there. He just believes, "He's gone away but one day I might see him again when I am as old as he was." His parents hesitated but there is a small playground in the churchyard and he went off to play on the climbing frame after it was all over and he had hugged me yet again.

The oldest person there was my godfather. L... is 96 and he was determined to be there. We were going to make arrangements to pick him up and take him home again but his son A..., still a very busy lawyer, took the afternoon off to bring his father and be there for us.

There were other professional people in the congregation, there were retired people, one of his fellow magicians, his last magic student, staff from the nursing home, family, and friends. The church was full - not bad for an acknowledgment of ninety nine years of life.

My brother gave the main eulogy - mostly written by the two of us. My eldest nephew spoke on behalf of all the grandchildren. The head of the clan spoke on behalf of the clan. They all made people smile and even laugh. We had tartan ribbon instead of flowers because there were still flowers in the church. We had four different faiths involved and three different continents involved in the service.

Afterwards people mingled and drank cups of tea while nibbling on sandwiches and cake provided by the people of the church as a gift to us. A friend who had come to support me discovered one of her old teachers. Two more people realised they were distantly related to one another. Cousins greeted each other after the long Covid break.

I know all this happened. It was rather a blur. I said hello to a lot of people. I managed not to disgrace myself by howling my eyes out.

But we went out of the church to put the Senior Cat's ashes in the ground to music I will never feel quite the same about. It is not in the least bit religious but it was the contribution of the children from Pana Mtoto Mlangoni - a refuge in Africa. The words mean "There is a child at the door".  The song they chose is widely known in Africa - and perhaps in other places now. It is a complete nonsense song. It is loud and cheerful and the priest gave me a smile as the sound burst out. He had seen the startled faces of those gathered there.

And later several people said to me things like, "What a way to go. That was magnificent."

Yes, it is what he would have wanted...he loved nonsense and jokes and so much more.