All the overwhelming opposing emotions that Adrian Chiles went through happened to me too when I casually looked at our street on Google Maps (My dad died a year ago – and a photo of him on Google Street View brought me up short, 19 February). There was the palliative care nurse at our front door waiting to be let in, standing by our small red car. My husband had terminal cancer and this amazing nurse was incredibly supportive to all of us. The car was his little runaround while he was still able to drive. The picture must have been taken in 2017, not long before he died. An innocuous picture for those filming, but full of heft for my family.
Susan Denning
Stroud, Gloucestershire
Adrian Chiles’s comments about seeing a picture of his dad on Google Maps chimes with my own experience. My first wife died 10 years ago this week. Four or five years afterwards, while searching the area where we used to live, I came across a picture of Sue, about to cross our old road. Like Adrian, my first reaction was shock, followed by surprise and then by a smile. His article prompted me to check to see if she’s still there – she is.
Ian Horton
Llanbradach, Caerphilly
My own dad died, unexpectedly, just last November. I understand Adrian’s mixed emotions on being confronted with his own father on Street View; I’d give anything to see mine like that, alive and just going about his day – as though I could just pop round for a cuppa. My maternal uncle can still similarly be seen, standing at the window of his home, watching the camera doing its thing. He died four years ago, but I can still drop in online to say “hi” occasionally.
Liz North
Guiseley, West Yorkshire
Our dad, John, passed away four months ago, but if we visit the family home on Street View, through the living room window, we can still see the top of his head, as he sits in a favourite chair, probably reading the Guardian.
Phil Gyford
Abbey Dore, Herefordshire
Myself and my wife, with our beautiful dog Fred, were lucky enough to be photographed by Google Maps’ cameras while cycling near our house in France in 2014. It brings a tear to my eye looking at how free and fit we all were then. My beautiful wife, Joyce, was diagnosed with a horrible blood cancer in 2018 after falling while running in our forest and rupturing her spleen. The hospital in Mont-de-Marsan was fantastic and fixed her up so quickly. She is now under Christie’s in Manchester. Our gorgeous Fred died three years ago.
Stephen Gibbon
Nantyr, Denbighshire