Alicia Wood drove from Devon late afternoon yesterday. And pitched up at ours, en route to London, with her longtime friend, Maurizio Anzeri, and the artwork he created from a photo of LB. We’d seen, and loved, photos of this picture, which was recently exhibited in Aviles with the #JusticeforLB quilt and other brilliance, but it’s impossible to capture the delicate, intricate, extraordinary (and precision) golden thread, stitching/embroidery on camera. (Sort of ironically.)

It is completely mesmerising.

I can’t put into words what Maurizio creates with his work. He typically works with ‘anonymous’ vintage photos, creating patterns over faces with embroidery thread. He didn’t do this with LB. He sort of wove the magic with him, through him. For him.

One of the saddest things that haunts me (apart from constantly missing LB) is the gradual loosening/distancing of him from the continued unfolding of our lives. I know it’s kind of inevitable. Christ. We can’t keep banging a ‘remember LB’ drum every other minute, despite how much I want to.  I now understand how much each of us who knew (knew of) and loved LB in our various ways, always will. How could we not? And I’m beginning to develop an encouraging, while patchy, engagement with the ‘he’s always with me, in my heart’ type thinking.

Maurizio has produced something that will always prompt/demand questions, interest and fascination among family and friends. He has created an heirloom. And that is truly magical.