Photos :-)
One of my friends, best friends, died twenty-four days ago. I tried to find photos of the things we've done together in my own photo albums but I couldn't find any...and then I realised...I never took the photos, she did. I did some Facebook stalking and I came up with many more memories than I'd remembered by myself. So here, as the funeral may still be many weeks away, is my personal dedication to Harriet Ward, made up of the photos I found of us on her Facebook, and my memories of the things we did.
26th May 2008
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This was the event that made Harriet and I close friends again. In 2002, when Harriet moved to a different high school for 6th form, we stopped seeing each other regularly. At school I'd had many lessons with her and we were good friends, but as teenagers do, things changed. Anyway. Thanks to my return to the island after Uni, and our mutual 'Lady who Lunches', Kirsten, our friendship was rekindled. For 7 months, after she convinced me it would be a good idea whilst eating crispy seaweed and shredded beef at Hong Kong Express, we trained together for a 10 km run.
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That same weekend we took a tour of Lords, the cricket ground, as I love cricket and it was somewhere I had always wanted to go. As an avid sports fan, Harriet really didn't mind joining me in this quest and was just as excited as me to touch the pitch! It was a great weekend as I was already set on moving to London the following year and we explored the main sights of "the big city" together. At the time we didn't know how "big" London would become for the both of us in our lives.
4th-5th September 2010
So. When I lived in my London house, we had a house party in the beginning of September 2010, sort of for my birthday, sort of "just because". For the party, my brother, Kirsten and Harriet came to stay and the morning after the night before my poor guests were woken by my clock radio at 5.30am. We'd only got to sleep around 2.30am. All very well except my preferred radio station was UCB, United Christian Broadcasting, which was not to their liking. Hymns in the morning are not what you'd expect I suppose.
Harriet's Birthday: 29th October 2010
As a result of the party in London we arranged to go to visit Kirsten in Birmingham to celebrate Harriet's birthday. I had completely forgotten that I met Harriet at the train station and made her wear the hat and badge all the way to Birmingham until I saw the photo on her Facebook. She loved it, and she was given a beer by a train drunk as a present! We had another great weekend together, drinking a lot of tequila and sharing many laughs with Kirsten and her Uni friends.
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Being 'Ladies who Lunch', the three of us would meet up, and...eat lunch (or sometimes dinner). This time, however, Harriet invited us for a Christmas dinner at her house. We would just talk, and talk, about the good, the bad and the ugly. Harriet was one of those friends. Even though our circumstances changed we would catch up on the emails and exchanges we'd had since the last time we'd physically seen each other. Harriet always told me how proud she was of me and her other friends and I know she used "us" as inspiration for her travelling and her later projects.
2011-2012
During this time I always met Harriet to do something in my time back on the Island, or in London. Like I said, meeting for coffee, writing CV's, eating lunch, going to museums etc, aren't really the things you take photo's of. One weekend I stayed with her in her studio flat, we bumbled around the city with my Mum and one of my friends from Italy in tow. We ended up stumbling across an art-show of Mr. Brainwash, one of the main street artists featured in Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop. In the beginning of this showcase was the painting that we are photographed with in this post. Life is indeed very beautiful, if you let it, and Harriet did.
New Years Day, January 1st, 2013
This is the last photo taken of something I did with Harriet, even though we met up many times after. In this photo I was ridiculously excited about the fact I was eating fish and chips, award-winning fish and chips at that, as it's surprisingly not an Italian delicacy. At this point in Harriet's life story there was a lot going on and I remember telling Kirsten how worried I was about her but also how she seemed a completely different person. Since this photo was taken my suspicions had been confirmed and Harriet had a bit of a rocky start to 2013 that ended up leading to, what I view as, the most positive I'd seen her since I'd known her. I know that Harriet managed to make many changes in her life since she took this picture that had a huge impact on her life and the life of others, she was 'on the up'.
29th October 2013
The last communication I had with her was on her birthday, two days before she died. I'd actually messaged her just as an ordinary day, as I hadn't heard from her in a while. Then after doing so, 2 hours later, I realised it was her birthday!!! I sent her a message covering my error, spelling mistake and all. I was planning on giving her her birthday present along with her Christmas present. Ironically I've already bought the Christmas present and not the birthday present.
As my current phone wallpaper says: A good friend knows all your best stories, a best friend has lived them with you. I'll miss living my stories with Harriet, I really will.
Having not returned to England yet, it still all seems a bit strange. I have been taking comfort in knowing that Harriet was a success. She was my encourager and yes, her death has left a huge whole in my life, but she has also left a reminder of how important courage and bravery are if you want to get somewhere. Harriet was very good at seeing the beauty in her everyday surroundings, in the leaves, in the sky, in the sea, in the people, even on the tough days. Everyone has their special people and when you lose one of those special people it's tough. But Harriet has left me a legacy of positivity, a reminder to look at that sunset, and crunch those leaves :-)
26th May 2008
.jpg)
This was the event that made Harriet and I close friends again. In 2002, when Harriet moved to a different high school for 6th form, we stopped seeing each other regularly. At school I'd had many lessons with her and we were good friends, but as teenagers do, things changed. Anyway. Thanks to my return to the island after Uni, and our mutual 'Lady who Lunches', Kirsten, our friendship was rekindled. For 7 months, after she convinced me it would be a good idea whilst eating crispy seaweed and shredded beef at Hong Kong Express, we trained together for a 10 km run..jpg)
4th-5th September 2010
So. When I lived in my London house, we had a house party in the beginning of September 2010, sort of for my birthday, sort of "just because". For the party, my brother, Kirsten and Harriet came to stay and the morning after the night before my poor guests were woken by my clock radio at 5.30am. We'd only got to sleep around 2.30am. All very well except my preferred radio station was UCB, United Christian Broadcasting, which was not to their liking. Hymns in the morning are not what you'd expect I suppose. Harriet's Birthday: 29th October 2010
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| Harriet and I ready to go out :-) |
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| After opening her "presents" from me. |
As a result of the party in London we arranged to go to visit Kirsten in Birmingham to celebrate Harriet's birthday. I had completely forgotten that I met Harriet at the train station and made her wear the hat and badge all the way to Birmingham until I saw the photo on her Facebook. She loved it, and she was given a beer by a train drunk as a present! We had another great weekend together, drinking a lot of tequila and sharing many laughs with Kirsten and her Uni friends.
Christmas 2010
.jpg)
Being 'Ladies who Lunch', the three of us would meet up, and...eat lunch (or sometimes dinner). This time, however, Harriet invited us for a Christmas dinner at her house. We would just talk, and talk, about the good, the bad and the ugly. Harriet was one of those friends. Even though our circumstances changed we would catch up on the emails and exchanges we'd had since the last time we'd physically seen each other. Harriet always told me how proud she was of me and her other friends and I know she used "us" as inspiration for her travelling and her later projects.2011-2012
During this time I always met Harriet to do something in my time back on the Island, or in London. Like I said, meeting for coffee, writing CV's, eating lunch, going to museums etc, aren't really the things you take photo's of. One weekend I stayed with her in her studio flat, we bumbled around the city with my Mum and one of my friends from Italy in tow. We ended up stumbling across an art-show of Mr. Brainwash, one of the main street artists featured in Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop. In the beginning of this showcase was the painting that we are photographed with in this post. Life is indeed very beautiful, if you let it, and Harriet did.
New Years Day, January 1st, 2013
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| At the Folly |
This is the last photo taken of something I did with Harriet, even though we met up many times after. In this photo I was ridiculously excited about the fact I was eating fish and chips, award-winning fish and chips at that, as it's surprisingly not an Italian delicacy. At this point in Harriet's life story there was a lot going on and I remember telling Kirsten how worried I was about her but also how she seemed a completely different person. Since this photo was taken my suspicions had been confirmed and Harriet had a bit of a rocky start to 2013 that ended up leading to, what I view as, the most positive I'd seen her since I'd known her. I know that Harriet managed to make many changes in her life since she took this picture that had a huge impact on her life and the life of others, she was 'on the up'.
29th October 2013
The last communication I had with her was on her birthday, two days before she died. I'd actually messaged her just as an ordinary day, as I hadn't heard from her in a while. Then after doing so, 2 hours later, I realised it was her birthday!!! I sent her a message covering my error, spelling mistake and all. I was planning on giving her her birthday present along with her Christmas present. Ironically I've already bought the Christmas present and not the birthday present.As my current phone wallpaper says: A good friend knows all your best stories, a best friend has lived them with you. I'll miss living my stories with Harriet, I really will.
Having not returned to England yet, it still all seems a bit strange. I have been taking comfort in knowing that Harriet was a success. She was my encourager and yes, her death has left a huge whole in my life, but she has also left a reminder of how important courage and bravery are if you want to get somewhere. Harriet was very good at seeing the beauty in her everyday surroundings, in the leaves, in the sky, in the sea, in the people, even on the tough days. Everyone has their special people and when you lose one of those special people it's tough. But Harriet has left me a legacy of positivity, a reminder to look at that sunset, and crunch those leaves :-)
Some lovely memories of a lovely girl xx
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