My Mum (left), aunt and uncle - two English, one Scottish, all half-Jewish. 

In the light of recent news reports and things said by powerful people the world over, I am very much reminded of the words of Pastor Martin Neimoeller ...

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.

It begins by defining someone as 'other', it potentially ends in genocide - which is why today I feel moved to join a political protest.  Whatever our views on the EU or the UK, or anything else, our shared humanity has to come first.  For me, that means today I will join thousands of others to speak out for what we believe to be true.

It's taken a while, and a lot of effort on the part of my little sister to whom the task was entrusted, but yesterday the stone mason provided this photo of the new stone on our parents' grave.  I think she chose well, the colour of the stone and the inscription are just right for my unfussy parents!  Soon the grass will recover around the plinth, and the shine will fade, but the marker, like the memory, will remain.

It's only when I compare the photos that I realise quite how tired the old gravestone had become after almost thrity years in situ...

To be honest, unless I am in that part of the world for other reasons, I almost certainly won't visit the grave again, but it is good to know that it is easy to find for any who do.