July 1993-April 2005
Julia Boxer, 29 July 2005
Prior to Cha going to the States the summer she met Martin, she landed
a two week job in London working at one of the art museums. Throughout
that time, Cha stayed with me and my family in London. It was a very,
very hot summer and every morning Cha would go off early, workbag in
hand, and I would have dinner ready for her in the evenings. We used to
laugh that we were like an old married couple!! We talked a lot that
time about her trip to NY and she was quite nervous as she didn’t know
that many people there. Who would have imagined that just a few weeks
later she would meet the man who would become the great love of her
life? The following year, Cha, myself, Sa and Debs, shared a house
together in Leeds and we met the famous Martin on his many visits. Cha
was besotted and it was clear to us that he was with her too... On my
last visit to London in April 2005, I went to Holly Park Gardens to
spend a few hours with Cha and to meet the lovely, happy, gurgling Sam.
Cha had undergone a treatment a few days before and it was clear she
wasn’t feeling too great, but that was put to one side as she fed and
played with Sam and offered me drinks. One of the things I loved the
most about Cha was her openness and honesty and that afternoon Cha
admitted that she was scared about her illness. But in the same breath
and in that true Charlotte Berger style, she shrugged it off as a blip
on the way to the better things in life and then proceeded to ask me
about my news. Cha’s positive outlook and her optimism was always an
inspiration to me. Solly and Sam you had such a beautiful, intelligent,
funny, fun and caring mother. And in the short time I spent with you
and her it was very obvious how much she loved and adored you both.