I wrote this post the other day after I heard about the death of the Prodigy singer Keith Flint. The band influenced my musical taste in the mid-90s; their mash-up of punk and dance opened up a world of different music to me. The Prodigy were the last gig my sons and I went together to as a group and my youngest son was introduced to the concept of the mosh pit. When I heard the news I was shocked and sad – Keith was younger than me and, although to be confirmed, it appears he took his own life.

I hadn’t posted it because, although I had a personal connection with the music of the Prodigy, I hadn’t connected with him as a person.

Then today I heard of the death of Kandy Woodfield.

Kandy was one of my PLN, a trusted ear and voice with a fantastic commonsensical approach to her work. On top of that Kandy was a thoughtful, kind and gentle person, always ready to help when asked and offering to help when not. She was warm and kind with a throaty chuckle when she laughed that couldn’t help but lift you. She was smart with a fierce intelligence which her modesty would prevent her from mentioning. I’d messaged her a couple of weeks ago and hadn’t heard back. I was more than shocked when I heard this news – I was knocked sideways and felt (and still feel) incredibly sad.

Loss is very personal – it’s not about what someone says or does that you lose but the way they make you feel. That’s why the loss of these 2 people is so painful to me. They made me feel good and I know feeling good because of them in the future will be different and hard.

And it hurts.