Emma the indomitable

What a marvellous, uplifting, heart-gladdening, lifeaffirming message that Emma Hannigan (pictured), the lovely and much-lamented author and ‘cancer vixen’, left for her mourning family, friends and readers at her funeral this week. And if you were encouraged to wear the shoes, eat the chocolate, brew the strong coffee in honour of an indomitable spirit – even if you’d never read one of her delightful and elegant books – maybe you found time to make a small donation to a cancer charity, too. ‘Let the pink fluff and sparkles break through,’ she wrote, because ‘there’s enough grey in the world already.’ Sadly, it’s a little greyer still for her loss.