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Anthea Carson, co-founder of the
CJS, died on 22nd September 2001.
- The
initial Announcement in the CJS
-
The Order
of Service
-
The
Thanks in the CJS.
-
Anthea's 1st Deathday
-
Anthea's 2nd Deathday
-
Anthea's 3rd Deathday
- Anthea's 4th Deathday
(Click on one of the seven headings to go direct to that section.)
1. This issue is dedicated to the memory of Anthea Carson, D.
Phil.
Co-founder of the CJS, Anthea finally lost her brave fight against cancer on
Saturday 22nd September, 2001
Alto-soprano, botanist, computer programmer, conservationist, ecologist,
forester, gardener, glider pilot, hill walker, journalist, librarian, lifeguard,
ornithologist, pharmacist, ranger, researcher, swimmer, university tutor,
volunteer and zoologist - I am privileged to have shared 25 years of loving
marriage with this remarkable woman.
Her achievements were many, including the CJS itself, but perhaps the most
lasting will be the 5 acres of native woodland which we fenced and planted at
Sleights some 20 years ago.
‘She lived lightly on the earth and died gently in my arms.
Now her spirit soars above the wood we planted.’
The CJS is Anthea’s gift to you. Your gift to her can be any donation (in cash
or in kind) to any cancer charity or charity shop in your local area, or to
Leukaemia Research Fund,
43 Great Ormond Street, London WC1N 3JJ
Tel: 020 7405 0101. Web: www.leukaemia-research.org.uk
Registered Charity 216032.
Thank-you. Niall Carson.
2. A Thanksgiving Service for the life of Anthea Carson, D.
Phil.
(1934 ~ 2001)
Woodlands Crematorium, Scarborough
Monday 1st October 2001, 11.20 a.m.
This Order of Service will help us to find our way through the short time that
we have together. It includes some words which you may like to let flow through
your hearts and minds as we remember Anthea and listen to some of her favourite
music. If you would like to, please take it away with you in memory of Anthea –
our companion and friend.
On Entering:
Enigma Variations, ‘Nimrod’. Edward Elgar.
(This was playing on the radio as Anthea passed away)
Welcome and Opening Prayer:
by Fr. Malcolm Lockey, Vicar of the Parishes of St. Margaret, Aislaby and St.
Bartholomew, Ruswarp.
Reading.
Hymn: ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’
(Simply because Anthea liked it)
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
1. Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colours,
He made their tiny wings.
All things bright…
2. The purple headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset, and the morning
That brightens up the sky:
All things bright…
3. The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water
We gather every day:
All things bright…
Eulogy.
‘Wild Mountain Thyme’
Traditional arrangement, played by Tracey Barker:
'And we’ll all go together
To pull wild mountain thyme,
All across the blooming heather,
Will ye go lassie, go?'
Prayers:
Our Father who art in heaven...
Committal:
The Lark Ascending, Vaughan Williams (finale only).
(To remind us of summertime on the moortop)
A Celtic Blessing:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always on your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your
face, the rain fall soft upon your field
And until we meet again, may God
hold you in the palm of his hand.
As We Leave:
“Amen” chorus from Handel’s Messiah (Anthea, an alto-soprano, sang in The Messiah at Leeds Civic Hall, just across
the street from her ward in Leeds General Infirmary).
Anthea loved the Moorland On leaving, please take a sprig of late summer heather as a keepsake.
A collect plate is provided for the Friends of the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Unit,
Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds.
After the service you are welcome at Groves Bank, Woodlands Drive, Sleights for
traditional Yorkshire / Irish hospitality and refreshments.
To My Lady of the Wood:
She lived lightly on the earth and died gently in my arms. Now her spirit soars above the wood we planted.
High, high, high in the sky her branches reach up for the sun. Down, down, down on the ground her roots hold fast to the earth. High in the sky, down on the ground. Going before, staying behind. Earth to earth, ashes to ash trees and leaves to leave. For ever.
Niall Carson
Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep:
Do not stand at my grave and weep; I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush, I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I did not die. Anon.
A Message:
If I should go before the rest of you, break not a flower nor inscribe a stone; nor when I’m gone speak in a Sunday voice,
but be the usual selves that I have known. Weep if you must – parting is hell,
but life goes on, so sing as well…
And if my funeral day is clear and bright,
blue skies reflecting the peace to come for those travelling on, go to the sea – an outgoing tide will take my ashes to the ocean floor, among the sands where I still belong,
for the breath of God is within the shore.
Bury me without grief – I wasn’t perfect – you know that: but I loved a lot and I’ll go on loving while my ashes become dust…
May be you could bury me on a stormy day, alongside the shavings of that felled oak, so old and so huge:
I will lie there safely while my true self goes elsewhere: and the rains and the snows that follow will make mud for the swallow’s nest. I might be the home of a swallow while I fly without wings to my own home – your home – the HOME of us all
And when you’ve done today – over a cup of tea or a whisky glass, Pray for me, as I shall be in prayer for you.
And remember to feed the dog…
After Joyce Grenfell
3. Anthea Carson
Thank-you to everyone who made donations or sent condolences.
We have been very moved by the response from friends and strangers alike, all
united in grief. The Thanksgiving Service for her life was quite beautiful and
the Order of Service is now on our website.
Special thanks are also due to Tracey, Kerryn and Amy who have not only kept the
CJS going over the past few years, but have made it grow and improve. Their
tribute to Anthea was to maintain our unbroken record and to carry on publishing
as normal.
Anthea would have been very proud of them.
We will continue to develop the CJS, just as she would have wished.
Niall Carson.
You will find the Leukaemia Research Fund website via our Links page. You can
also donate to them via the CJS.
4. Anthea's 1st Deathday (from 'CJS
Weekly' on 23/9/02):
Sad Deathday to Anthea Carson, co-founder of the CJS
It is hard to believe that a year has passed without my beloved wife
Anthea. We who have chosen our careers in natural history should know by now
that death is a fact of life, and that each and every life is a journey from
random birth to certain death. We should know better than most, that each and
every life hangs by a single strand of spider silk and can be cut at any
moment by oh so many timely and untimely causes. Even when we do know and do
accept all these things, they will ease our sadness by just a little.
Anthea’s ashes are scattered in Groves Coppice, the 5 acre native woodland
by the house, which we planted together in the early 1980s. This ‘field of
small trees’ now feels like a proper wood and you can keep in touch with the
woodland and its wildlife by visiting www.grovesdyke.co.uk and clicking on
‘The Wood’ and on ‘Wildlife Diary’.
Thank-you to all the CJS Subscribers who have raised over £200 for the
Leukaemia Research Fund since Anthea died. If you would like to contribute
too, please add just 15 pence (or more) to your next £18 subscription and the
CJS will forward 100% of your donation to the charity indicated. Year by year
the research into cancer, its causes and treatment inches forward. Month by
month some progress is reported. In fact, more improvements in targeting
chemotherapy were announced just last week…
Niall Carson, Editor CJS.
5. Anthea's 2nd Deathday (from CJS Weekly on 22/09/03):
Second Deathday
Two years ago this month Anthea Carson, my wife and co-founder of the CJS,
died of leukaemia. Since then, readers of the CJS have donated over £460 to the
Leukaemia Research Fund (LRF) where the Anthea Carson Memorial Fund has been
created. I thank everyone who has contributed. The LRF has made significant
progress over recent years, enabling their 400 scientists at leading hospitals
and universities across the country to apply this knowledge every day of the
year to save more lives. To everyone who has been bereaved, by any
cause, I offer my condolences. Niall Carson.
-
Do not stand at my grave and weep
-
Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there. I do not
sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow.
-
I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on
ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain.
-
When you awaken in the morning's hush, I am the swift
uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight.
-
I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my
grave and cry, I am not there. I did not die. Anon.
Donations to LRF (Charity No. 216032) can be made via the CJS [click on
'Shop' in the menu on the left and then on 'Donations'], or directly by
visiting www.lrf.org.uk
If you contribute directly to LRF please remember to mention 'Anthea Carson'
to have your donation recorded in her memorial fund.
PS: Calendar Girls. Released
two weeks ago, this movie is based on the true story of Rylstone Women's
Institute in the Yorkshire Dales. Following the death of one member's husband,
the ladies decided to raise money for Leukaemia treatment and research by
publishing their famous nude calendar. Its phenomenal success raised enough
money to refurbish the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Ward at Leeds General Infirmary,
where he was treated and where Anthea and I, and thousands of others, very much
appreciated the improvements. Congratulations ladies and Thank-you from us all.
Niall Carson. (NB: The Leukaemia Research Fund receives some of the royalties
from the Calendar Girls film).
6. Anthea's 3rd Deathday
Sad Deathday. It is 3 years since the death of Anthea Carson, co-founder
of the CJS. Without her, the CJS would not exist. Since her death many of you
have kindly added an extra 1 penny per week to your CJS subscription, for the
Leukaemia Research Fund's 'Anthea Carson Memorial Fund'. We are always pleased
to forward 100% of your donations, which have now raised a total of £670.19p for
research into leukaemia and other blood cancers. 'Thank-you' to everyone who has
contributed. If you find the CJS useful, you may wish to show your
appreciation of Anthea's work by making your next CJS subscription payment for
£18 and 15 pence, rather than just the bare £18. Thank-you. Niall Carson.
7. Anthea's 4th Deathday
CJS Co-founder Remembered
On the 4th annniversary of Anthea's death from acute myeloid
leukaemia we publish this recent News Release from the Leukaemia Research Fund.
As a botanist and a pharmacist my late wife would have appreciated the relevance
of this advance in helping others to live. By adding 1p / week to your CJS
Subscription we have been able to forward £940.10p to the Leukaemia Research
Fund's Anthea Carson Memorial Fund. Thank-you to all who contribute. When you
get a job you can also donate the value of your unused CJS Subscription. If you
find the CJS useful please consider making a donation. Thank-you, Niall Carson,
Editor.
More details: www.countryside-jobs.com/anthea/anthea.htm
Plant Power Holds Cancer Clues: Scientists, part funded by Leukaemia
Research, are harnessing the power of plants in the hope of finding new
treatments for leukaemia. Sap from a weed traditionally used for treating corns
and warts contains chemicals that can control cell growth and death. Scientists
at the University of Birmingham are now working on new drug models for fighting
cancer and even arthritis, based on harnessing natural products from plants,
algae and fungi as well as man made chemicals which mimic their actions. The
plant is petty spurge (Euphorbia peplus), also known as milk weed, and is a
common weed found in gardens. An extract of petty spurge has been tested against
cancer cells taken from eight patients with acute myeloid leukaemia, a
particularly aggressive cancer of bone marrow stem cells. In seven of the eight
samples it killed between 56 and 95 per cent of the cancer cells. These results
were even achieved using low concentrations of up to a hundredth of those that
would damage healthy cells. A clinical trial with myeloid leukaemia patients
will begin next year in Paris. The sap extract works by activating an enzyme
called protein kinase C which triggers controlled cell suicide. In many cancers
the basic problem is that cells either grow too quick, die too slowly, or both.
With this in mind, when tackling cancer cells scientists are trying to find
drugs that can turn these molecules on or off – to trigger cell suicide.
Professor Janet Lord, a protein kinase expert from the University of Birmingham
is leading the research. "We have known for some time that we wanted to target
protein kinases as a target for killing cancer cells, the problem has been
finding something to do it," she says. "The chemicals that exist in nature are
more complex than we could easily make, so using natural products is very
exciting. Traditional use of plants or old-wives tales can point us in the
direction of plants with medicinal potential."
www.lrf.org.uk
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