I think you will remember my friend, for the blog she is Patsy to my Edina.

Some of my stories have explained her humour, her support of me personally and our family over so many years.

She always had a sixth sense and be on the end of a phone, or by my hospital bed, with no warning, she just seemed to know to appear.

I heard from her last weekend whilst I was still in hospital.

She had been admitted to a hospice in Tunbridge Wells.

I managed to see her on Tuesday. I spent a lovely peaceful calm afternoon with her. She slept. She chatted. We laughed. We sipped gin. We planned a teepee party for her. We planned a trip to New York.

By Wednesday her son let me know she was slipping away.

Early this morning, Friday, he told me she had passed away.

It’s utterly impossible to explain how rubbish this feels. But I do know she would hate us to talk about battles fought and won or lost. She always wanted to celebrate life. She would expect us to raise a glass and cheer her onwards. Where so ever that is, it is sure to be one helluva party.

Some blogs about her:
We promised ourselves we would go to the opening of the photographic exhibition in which we featured… Patsy promised she would stay alive ( the story is here DragonTattoo )

and here

English Patients…

Pippi Longstocking the photographer got more than she bargained for when she met us. This was 2016. Patsy had just that day, been told cancer was back. Prognosis was 3 months. Pippi felt she should not stay. Bugger that. said Patsy. Open another bottle .. I will make sure I live to see this exhibition about health. I will come to Stockholm for it. I will talk about the big C as in CONTINENCE… so Pippi stayed. Photos were taken. Not many clothes needed! Stockholm loomed, and of course Patsy made that too. Just this Tuesday she nagged me to find out when we were appearing in New York!