Memorial to Tanya Burr, killed 15 September 2002

Dinner after the Funeral: 20 September 2002

After five days of enormous stress, sleeping all over the place and much travelling, someone suggested that as a number of people were to spend the night at Dannevirke (or they lived there anyway), that perhaps we might like to have dinner together there. So the Burr family, the remainder of the Rotorua and Auckland contingent who were staying there overnight, and the one remaining member of the Dannevirke Williams relatives whose stamina remained, had dinner at State of Art, Dannevirke. Anita and Vito waited on us - and of course also joined us - while the normal staff dealt with the rest of the restaurant and sometimes were also free to pop in.

The significance of all this was that this was the same room where Tanya's 21st had been held only four months earlier. Also, this was the last place Anita's mother Sarla and I had last seen Tanya alive only seven days earlier. So for at least some of us, the little pilgrimage back to State of Art only hours after the funeral, was for more than just a meal.

I did my bit to decorate the room by making use of the pokie machines to display photos of Tanya on some surplus funeral service sheets. These are visible in the background.

Tanya would have loved this little impromptu function in her honour. It felt strange to be there without her.

These photos were taken by Trevor Bennett or at least on his camera given that he is in the top photo to the right of Kieran.

Vito at work in Dannevirke instead of his usual Rotorua

There is a near identical photo from this angle from Tanya's 21st. That one shows Tanya in the distance showing the kids how to work the pokie machines.

Anita on the job this time

Nick not on the job in the hospitality industry - for an amazing change!