My wife of 45 years, Anne, died a few weeks ago. To say I am heartbroken would be a massive understatement. I am lost. I am at a loss. When someone has been so central to your life for so long, how can you go on? However, many good memories have come back to me spontaneously, and friends and relatives have reminded me of incidents and occasions that I had either forgotten, or had not brought to mind for ages. In recent years Anne and I had spoken of writing down some memories for our grandchildren. We didn’t make much progress on that project, but now seems as good a time as any to make a start. I do this as much to deal with my loss as to recall memories for my grandchildren.

Last year Anne and I had our final holiday together at Banyuls-sur-mer in the South of France. One day we made an excursion into Spain to visit the Dali Museum in Figueres. It was a fun experience. We happened to visit on the day that France was playing in the World Cup Final. Accordingly, visitor numbers were low and we were able to enjoy the museum in some comfort. Though Anne was tired, she was able to sit down frequently throughout the visit. While going through stuff in the past few days I came across a bag from the gift shop in Figueres containing some items we had purchased, including a watch Anne had bought for herself with Dali’s famous melting clocks image on the face, The Persistence of Memory. Anne had a poster of this image on the wall of her flat many years ago when I first met her. Thus I find I have a title for this blog which has multiple resonances.