Sue and I went to the pictures this afternoon: to Life of Pi.

And, in preparation, I hunted down our copy of Yann Martel's book which I knew I had started but not finished.

And what did I find?

Apart from the reminder of the story that I sought, I discovered that our copy had been given to me by my brother and that it contained a dedication in his own hand.

R's college had invited this author to be their special guest well before he got the Booker Prize. And he is still coming, which is very good!
With much love from Charles.
September 2003.

And suddenly - following on from Mr. Klinkenborg's observations about the loss of the sound of a person's voice - I realised that, in this digital age, we are fast loosing the recognition of handwriting as another potent association with those we love and lose.

In fact, now I come to think about it, it may be one of the most powerful.
I guess we will all have poured over many a photograph album struggling to identify loved ones at stages of their lives during which we were not, ourselves, present.

But, had I found this copy of Life of Pi in a second hand bookshop, instead of on my own shelves, I would have recognised my brother's handwriting without hesitation.

Just another thought...

And, by the by, we loved the film...but, if you are anyway like us, be sure to take a handkerchief with you.............