Oh Gally how very sad for you. I've not experienced loss in the same way as you ("just" separation then divorce), but I kept my Mum's handbag with her powder compact and bits and pieces including a card I made for her as a small girl for many, many years (she died when I was 18) and only managed to get rid of it 3 or 4 years ago, it was my last piece of something so personal to her, so I can understand just a tiny bit of what you are feeling at the moment. 
What was the name of the corner shop you went to as a child?
How will the VAT cut be funded?



