Heartbroken daughter’s tweet about grief for her dead dad while in Marks & Spencer at Christmas sparks outpouring of love
Celebrities including James Corden and J.K. Rowling shared Rachael Prior's 'heartwarming' tweet about her late father Lynton, who died of cancer at 73
A GRIEVING daughter's Tweet about her late father has sparked an outpouring of love from heartbroken Brits.
Celebrities including J.K. Rowling and James Corden flocked to add their own tributes and praise the "heart-warming" thread.
Film producer Rachael Prior, 43, tweeted "Nowhere and no time do I miss my dad more acutely than in the men’s department of M&S at Christmas" when "a reasonable priced, deep red angora mix sweater with a ribbon round it" caught her eye as she browsed.
The jumper immediately reminded her of late father Lynton, who passed away from cancer at 73 after a long career as headteacher at Leicester's Richmond Primary School.
She said: "A wave of grief so strong it stopped me in my tracks. It was exactly the sort of jumper I’d have bought my dad and he’d have been delighted with it.
"I had this vivid imagined moment suddenly playing out in my mind: his face lighting up, him pulling it on immediately and posing around the living room for our amusement like a model.
"It reminded me how long it had been since I’d had that feeling, and that I’ll never have it again"
Among the thousands of replies was a message from singer Alison Moyet, who wrote: "I played Southend tonight. Every time I have I was stressed because my parents were in the audience. This time I was aware that they were not."
Twitter users also added their own memories of dead parents, with dozens replying to name the everyday objects that remind them of lost loved ones.
The thread was also shared by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and telly host James Corden.
Rowling retweeted Rachael's message, saying "Twitter really is wonderful sometimes", while Corden added "Read this whole thread and it will warm your heart."
But the highlight of the thread was when Rachael was contacted out of the blue by Samantha, a former pupil of Mr Prior.
Samantha told her: "I had the time of my life at that school, it was everything that a primary school should be. Your dad was a huge part of that. Also, his assemblies were legendary. He was a lovely, lovely man".
Rachael added: "It felt cathartic to use Twitter but I didn’t think for one minute my innocuous tweet would catch on. It’s been bizarre."
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