My Memories of Di You can hear Di saying Robert - Don’t go on, Don’t waffle and Keep it short. So I’ll do my best . Di went to St. Andrews convent school and there, age 9, she met her life long friend Gilly. Di’s only interests at school were Hockey Tennis and chatting up Boys on the bus and she was pretty good at all. On leaving school Di & Gilly enrolled on a secretarial course at Guildford Tech. When they should have been revising for a French GCSE they entered a Quaker Oats competition and won a weekend in Paris. And that was when Di fell in Love with France. Di Joined the Young Farmers with another life long school friend Sheila. Di was going out with Nick Smith at the time but their relationship had run it’s course so Di introduced Nick to Gilly who soon became Mrs Smith and Di was lending her beloved VW Beatle to them for their honeymoon. An act of generosity she later regretted as she could never get rid of the smell of kippers put on the engine by one of the wedding guests. Di became Godmother to Gilly’s son Rupert and to Sheila’s daughter Julia. Di’s first job was with a traditional jewellers in Oxford St. She was a secretary but she told me her most important task was to smuggle in the forbidden bacon rolls for the Jewish girls. Di’s Mum Dolly sadly passed away at an early age. Rosie and Di, with help from David, took on the role of looking after Harry and Di helped Harry to run his grocery shop. And that’s how things were when Di and I met. I had taken a friend for a game of squash at Preston Cross. Di was at the bar with her usual G&T in one hand and a fag in the other. We got chatting and the rest as they say is history. It was some years later that Di, with a twinkle in her eye, told me she had actually fancied my friend but he was happily married and luckily I wasn’t. Preston Cross squash club became our home from home. Friday night without fail, a game of squash, a few drinks and then to the Curry Queen for a ruby. Di was a great organiser. Club nights. Fancy dress nights. Party nights, food rotas, raffles tennis tournaments,skiing holidays. We had so much fun and many of our closest friends came from those Preston Cross days. Our first holiday together was, of course, to France. We booked a cheap tent ferry and campsite package. We drove through the night to the Cote D’azur arriving exhausted the following afternoon with a tent to erect and no idea how to do it. Fortunately a friendly Dutch camper recognised our dilemma so, while he erected our tent, we watched on drinking warm gin & tonic. The next time in France was at Port Grimaud the then new luxury Venice of the French Riviera. Each property with it’s own private mooring and it’s millionaires yacht. We however had a two man blow up dinghy. We would row every day to a relatively inaccessible beach where we happened to bump into another couple from Bookham. We were invited back for drinks and dinner and after several hours of enjoyment staggered down the dock to our notoriously unstable dinghy. Di somewhat unsteadily tried to step in but the dingy wobbled and Di fell into 20ft of water. Fortunately I was able to pull her out and she just sat there laughing as we watched our holiday belongings slowly sink out of site. Balance was always a bit of a problem. On the way back from a celebration with Sally and Stan Di forgot to peddle for a moment and fell off her then stationary bike breaking her collar bone. Di bought a moped, thought it was a good idea, but found she couldn’t balance confidently enough to make it to the middle of the road to turn right and you can’t get far only turning left. Two wheels didn’t suit Di but despite that she persuaded me to take her up California’s Highway One on the back of a Harley Davidson and she loved it. She would however drive anything with four wheels and made the point by becoming a member of the Institute of Advance Motorists. When Harry sold the shop Di had to find herself a proper job. She worked for David Finch at his electrical contracting company in London. She went on to Halmer Recruitment, then to BP Solar and finally, at the suggestion of our friend Ann Blackwell, she joined Finsbury Orthopaedics in Leatherhead at every job making new friends as she went. The roles she took on were varied and challenging but she enjoyed everyone and always had fun and brought fun to others. We travelled quite a lot over the years. Many trips to France of course but others come to mind- East Africa, Birthday cake and champagne on the plane thanks to Rosie and landing at Mombassa airport sitting in the cockpit behind the pilot NY Up the twin towers despite Di’s fear of heights. South Africa, Cape town, the Garden Route and another safari. French Chateau and a late diversion to Holland to collect a surprise Juke Box Di’s 70th birthday present. Cruises to Europe India and the Caribbean. Trips with old friends in Florida and new friends in Carolina and Minnesota. And 20 years to Le Mans for the 24 hour race. There were many more and each trip had a tale to tell. And then of course 11 years in the house in Marigny France. Always full of laughter with friends new and old. And there the second love of Di’s life, Ginger our cat, Ginger adopted Di and we adopted Ginger. Di supported charities driving the girls from the Grange Selling daffodils for Marie Curie every year. And regular monthly donations. Di loved to play pool with the girls giving the balls a good blatter and on a good night playing even more than one frame! The memories go on and on but I can here Di saying that’s enough So the last memory is one that those that have heard Di sing will never forget. Her rendition of My Way at the end of an enjoyable evening. Loud and very flat but it was her song. And now the end is near And so I face the final curtain My friends I’ll say it clear I’ll state my case of which I’m certain I’ve lived a life that’s full I’ve travelled each and every highway And more, much more than this I did my way. And that was Di Living and loving life to the full Having fun and bringing fun to others in her own special way. We’ve come to celebrate Di’s life and no Absalom celebration would be complete without Harry’s toast. Here’s to the world our world We come into it empty and bare We go through it with love honour and care, We leave to go we know not where But with good friends here we will have good friends there. Wherever Di is now she will be surrounded by good friends And I know she’ll be having FUN All My Love Robert