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Uncle Ted, husband of the sister of my granddad, died this morning aged 84.

Granddad's mind faded while his body continued. Ted's body faded while his mind continued.

Which is the better way to go? Is any demise preferable?

Perhaps most people's first choice would be to continue in rude health forever, not because eternal life is necessarily desirable, but because death seems so grotesquely unpleasant. Yet that choice is closed to us - death comes to us all, with no grace or favour.

So what choices does that leave us?

The sudden heart attack? Bent in agony and unable to breathe, with no time to say 'goodbye' or 'sorry' or 'I love you'?

The deterioration of mental capacity? Knowing the mind is slipping away but not knowing where it is leading you, and seeing the distress of those around you who can only spectate?

Or the physical decline? Trapped within a body that won't let you speak, still thinking, still calculating, like a permanent state of drowning.

If we could choose a way to die, could we really choose?

I couldn't.