James Hakki Lees, 10/02/1948 – 04/02/2013


 

We are here today for our dear friend, brother, uncle, cousin: James, Jim, Hakki Lees. 

He died peacefully at the Margaret Kerr Unit at the Borders General Hospital, on Monday 4 February.

He has been our friend for so many many years.

For all of our adult lives in some cases, almost since the day we were born in others.

He has looked after us in the nursery, been our social worker, psychiatric nurse, critic, acupuncturist, healer, sparring partner.

Always willing to talk to us (unless we'd upset him) especially in our own languages - the more abstruse the better - from Melanesian to Russian from Latin to Polari.

Been our Phone-a-Friend of choice; whether we needed setting straight on a linguistic or historical matter, help with an Incredible String band lyric or a Catullus quote, or serious help with someone in physical or mental distress.

And now we come to lay his body down here amongst his friends and ours according to his wish - so that he might not be lonely.

Here at Chisholme where he came as a pioneer when the house was a ruin - instrumental in Beshara coming here at all - and through that first freezing winter discovered that he was more scholar than plumber but truly Up for Anything.

Here before the forest that has just been harvested behind us was even planted.

We return his body to the earth of which all our bodies are made.

The last thing we can do for him in handing him back to his Lord.

Thank you, God, for the loan of your friend.

David Apthorp

 

Oh Heart of hearts,
Were my heart, my love, to outlive me,
I am but a root-word for your conjugations.
But if you saw me tears today, my love,
You saw me apprehension
Lest my heart be drowned with me;
Drowned, un-inflected noun in your current
Before it soared, fluent, as your verb.

Narda Azaria Dalgleish