Today myself, Tony and Jason, left some flowers at the castle for John. I was going to say 'In memory of John', but it felt like some of his adventurous spirit was still present, captured in the light darting through the trees and what could have been a very sad moment, didn't seem entirely so, Some flowers were laid at a sunlit tree looking over the fields. A spot that is easily seen beside the winding path that leads into the small area of woodland to the side of the castle moat. There, the green bark was so striking that it almost seemed to whisper to us to give it extra colour. A tag was attached by Jason which read, 'In loving memory of Peter John Ball. I am honoured to have known you, hope you have found peace, God bless xxx.'
Then we walked to the woodland where last Friday I discovered John's body. Since the weekend, I'd felt compelled to alter the last image within my head of John and to turn it into something more in-keeping with his deep resonance to nature, the environment and love of the world, so we laid a second set of flowers in that place with a tag showing a photo of John in his element, in the heyday of his Antarctica days. We said some words to John, not so much as a prayer, but as if he could have heard them, and I believe he did. It's been an emotional day of travelling towards some measure of closure. Rest in peace, John. John climbed many mountains in his lifetime, and he may not have been have been able to traverse over this last one, but he tried with all he had. You can't do anymore than that.
