Sitting in Bangkok airport waiting to board the plane to return to England for my dad's funeral I was struck by the tenderness between this old Chinese couple. Admittedly grief had done the emotional equivalent of removing top few layers of skin leaving me open to every nuance, positive and negative that surrounded me. However this love touched me deeply. He had spread a newspaper over her to ward off the icy chill of the air con, opened his jacket to shield her eyes from the light and he held her hands, both of them - to reassure her that she could sleep, peaceful and safe under his protective gaze.
