Journey long before me lies

 On Saturday Matt and I drove over to Newark-on-Trent to be present when Duncan's ashes were scattered on the river, from the bank opposite Newark Castle. An entirely appropriate place for one of the hobby's greats to begin his final journey. The scattering was accompanied by a reading by Laurence of Bilbo's Last Song, which I reproduce below. Many of Duncan's friends and colleagues were there, adding to the joy in celebration of a life well lived!

"Day is ended, dim my eyes,
but journey long before me lies.
Farewell, friends! I hear the call.
The ship's beside the stony wall.
Foam is white and waves are grey;
beyond the sunset leads my way.
Foam is salt, the wind is free;
I hear the rising of the Sea.

Farewell, friends! The sails are set,
the wind is east, the moorings fret.
Shadows long before me lie,
beneath the ever-bending sky,
but islands lie behind the Sun
that I shall raise ere all is done;
lands there are to west of West,
where night is quiet and sleep is rest.

Guided by the Lonely Star,
beyond the utmost harbour-bar,
I'll find the heavens fair and free,
and beaches of the Starlit Sea.
Ship, my ship! I seek the West,
and fields and mountains ever blest.
Farewell to Middle-earth at last.
I see the Star above my mast!"