Debra Goodstone, 16 Aug 05
Dear Solly and Sam,
I first met your mum in 1990 when I studied in Leeds. We got on instantly and bonded as two Northerners! We shared a house in our fourth year with Sara and Julia. There were many times when I would pass your mum on the stairs whilst she would be talking to your dad and she would then jet off to New York for glamorous visits to see him.
If there was ever a problem, she would sort it out! I’m transported to the time when, as usual, Julia and I were sat on the sofa watching TV and all of a sudden we saw Mickey, the famous house mouse! Julia and I jumped on the sofa (that in itself was a miracle) and were frozen in fear. Your mum was of course the one to get rid of it!
I also remember never being able to finish a tangerine, as every time I put half of it down, your mum had cleared it away!!!
All of our rooms were very student like whilst Charlotte’s was tasteful
and artistic, she had such a flair for making anywhere look
stylish. She also managed to make a delicious meal when there
never seemed to be much in the kitchen!
A few years later, as luck would have it, I ended up living on the next block to the Brass Family in London when I moved into 29 Plympton Road and they had returned from New York. Char would often pop in for a chat after work and before we knew it time had flown by because we were chatting and laughing so much!
We would sometimes get together on a Friday afternoon with you Solly
when I finished work early. We would invite Hannah along when Helena
was looking after her. Solly I remember many times at your house
when you would be driving around in the toy car that you loved.
It gave your mum such pleasure to watch you. Sam, your mum was so
thrilled when you were born too, when she talked about you boys, her
eyes shone, she adored you both and loved coming up with exciting
things for you to play with and great places to take you to.
The last time I saw your mum was when I was back from New York for a
couple of weeks last January. We were out on one of our famous
W.I. evenings. The Women’s Institute was a joke name we had given
to ourselves: your mum, me, Sara, Aunty Sophie, Anna and Lisa. My
memories of all those evenings are of tremendous warmth and shrieks of
laughter, plus lots of cake! I sat next to your mum and she
happily filled me in on how you both were and it was clear how much she
adored you boys.
This is a picture of Char, 17 Aug 05
This is a picture of Char, Julia, Sara and myself, years after we
had lived together in Leeds. Whenever we all got together it was
so rare and special and we all had so much to talk about. I can’t
remember the exact date when this was taken but I think it was a couple
of years ago.
Many things come to mind when I picture Char. She is always laughing and looking at the positive side of any situation. I shall always remember the kindness she showed me on so many occasions. One of the many examples was when I was looking for temp work in London. It was Char who sent an e-mail to everyone she knew, and through that I ended up getting a job. She was so considerate of others and always finding ways to help people in any way.
She also helped me with her expert interior design skills and gave me lots of suggestions when I bought my flat in Plympton Road. She never minded that I was a disastrous driver and we would laugh so much at my frightening attempts at parking! I remember once backing into something, I don’t remember what, there’s been so many and we just sat and laughed ‘til we had tears rolling down our faces.
I vividly remember sitting in the kitchen at Holly Park Gardens and asking Char whether I should return to the States for an extended period of time. Her advise was all from the heart and so full of understanding. She really was a remarkable woman and I feel blessed and full of pride to be able to say that I was one of her friends.