Smiling Through My Tears

It has been a week since my father-in-law, Hugh Lamb, passed away. I’ve been overwhelmed by the messages of love and admiration we’ve received directly and seen on the internet. Hugh was a humble man, so I never realized what a rock star he was in his field. I think even my husband has been wowed by the response, and he knew him for 48 years.

This morning, I awoke to a podcast in tribute to Hugh by Jim Moon of Hypnogoria. It speaks of the important role he played in the discovery of unknown or forgotten ghost stories of the Edwardian and Victorian eras. Some of these stories were penned by the great writers of the time but were lost along the way until he rediscovered them and published them in his anthologies. Hugh was the most untechnical of men—he still rented his TV and didn’t own a smart phone or electronic device of any kind. But, man, that guy knew how to work the interlibrary loan service in the 1970s.

It’s going to take a while for us to process our memories alongside the legends of the man that was Hugh Lamb. But for now, the image in my mind is of dad being ushered over to the other side by some of the Edwardian and Victorian masters who wanted to thank him for rediscovering their work and keeping their names alive all these years. They’re all sitting around a table at a heavenly café that looks a lot like Patisserie Valerie in Sutton.

Rest in peace, dad. I love you.

Thank you, Jim Moon, for the wonderful podcast and for getting me to smile through my tears.

 

4 comments on “Smiling Through My Tears

  1. Richard Lamb on

    ‘But for now, the image in my mind is of dad being ushered over to the other side by some of the Edwardian and Victorian masters who wanted to thank him for rediscovering their work and keeping their names alive all these years.’

    You totally read my mind. Thank you for expressing it so eloquently. <3

    Reply

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