Remembering Margarite (our mum) by Our Uncle Donald
Memories are sweet, especially when I think of a dear sister-in -law like your Mum. She was a special lady in so many ways and she brought an eastern gentleness to our family that I know was much appreciated by the families of all your uncles and aunts. Whilst your Mum was beguiling your father in Singapore my wife Breda and I were enjoying our first overseas posting to Hong Kong and getting used to the gentleness, and politeness, that Far Eastern ladies seemed to possess in abundance.
My first meeting with your Mum was when we visited my brother Tony in Reading. Although feeling very cold, your Mum afforded us a very warm welcome, a welcome that was sustained through many years of visiting when time and UK postings allowed. Tewkesbury, and the famous garden swimming pool will always be a memory to treasure, for although your Dad was the perfect host it was your delightful Mum that kept the hospitality going in the background (usually the kitchen).
Your Mum’s sixtieth birthday party, arranged by her loving children, is an occasion Josie and I shall long remember, particularly her ‘meeting’ with a member of the constabulary!
Your Mum was indeed a ‘one off’. your Dad may have been a king but Margarite was without doubt The Queen of all she surveyed.