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Living in a Car - Update
20 months ago, Carol Venus told Home Truths why she and her husband had lived in their car for more than a year, and how they coped with this nomadic existence. To catch up on their story click here. The couple continued living life on the road, until recently. This week Carol returned to the Home Truths studio to tell us the sad news of the death of husband, George.
When George became ill, both he and Carol thought that it was jaundice. It wasn't long, however, before George was told he had cancer. "They wanted him to go into hospital immediately," said Carol, "but he wouldn't go until he knew I was somewhere safe. He wouldn't leave me living in the car." The couple spent two further weeks together in the car, and it was only when Carol was settled in a travel lodge, that George would consent to go into hospital. Adamant that this situation couldn't continue, the couple's son arranged with the Housing Association for a George and Carol to move into a small bungalow on the downs. George came out of hospital after an operation which could not save his life, but could give him a little more time. He spent a month in the bungalow and died on 20th September 2000. "He absolutely adored the house. Even though he was so ill, he hung pictures up and pottered around."
George was emphatic that he didn't want an ordinary funeral, and when the time came, he got what he wished for. He was buried in a newly opened burial site on the South Downs, on Old Winchester Hill, in the Mearn Valley. "Two ladies run the burial site", said Carol, "They invited George up to see it, which in itself was an omen, because he was quite a flirt! And it was a beautiful spot." Only five or six people have been buried there so far, and this is where his son and his wife took George to be buried. Headstones are not permitted, but a microchip in the coffin, identifies the spot. George's funeral was as unconventional as his life.
At the bungalow, Carol and Max, the dog, miss George terribly, "I feel very hollow - there's an enormous void." She also misses the people she and George met whilst touring in their car, "Some of the people who run the service stations were particularly kind - you always felt you could go to them if you were really really down." Carol feels restless but for the present she will stay at the bungalow, working on the book about the life she and George led on the road, "I tried to work on it a couple of weeks ago, but I cried my eyes out. But I did promise George I'd finish it, so I will definitely do that."
Have you lost someone with whom you had a long and close relationship?
How did you cope, and were you able to carry out any special last wishes for them?
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