Memorial service for Bart

Dear friends,

Thank you for the very kind messages that many of you have sent – they are a real source of comfort at a very difficult time.

There will be a memorial service for Bart at 2pm on Tuesday 15 December at Chelsea Old Church, on the Embankment (SW3 5DQ), followed by a reception afterwards at the adjoining Petyt Hall.

Bart left quite detailed instructions as to the kind of send-off he wanted to have, and is very keen that this be a celebration.

Bart requested that people don’t send flowers, and that any donations go to Medical Aid for Palestinians [http://www.map-uk.org/donate/donate] or Kidney Cancer UK [http://kcuk.org/donate/]

I understand that many of you are far away and won’t be able to make it.

Love,

Anna

3 thoughts on “Memorial service for Bart”

  1. Dear Anna
    It was with great sadness that I learned that Bart had died following his battle with cancer. I got to know Bart at university in Durham as we had many mutual friends. Subsequently, I shared a house with him and others in Oxford while doing my teaching degree. I always admired his incredible intellect and amazing wit.
    I have lived most of my live in Australia but have heard of Bart’s successful career via the Durham grapevine – I recently purchased The Setting Sun which I enjoyed immensely.
    Please know that my thoughts are with you and the children at this sad time.

    I will make a donation to Medical Aid for Palestinians.

    Best wishes

    Judy (Taylor)

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  2. Dear Anna

    We met briefly at your wedding party. I am a friend of Bart’s from Durham and I am deeply sad at his death. We were very good friends and I just wish I had seen more of him in the past few years. He was better than me at staying in touch and had got us back together a couple of years ago and we were planning trips – to revisit old Durham haunts, and to Africa, to see an African Nations Cup football tournament. Above all I shall miss his sense of humour, his political steadfastness, which put me to shame and often brought me back onto the right track, and his sincere friendship, which was deeply felt and meant so much.

    I will be very sorry to miss Bart’s funeral, as we are leaving this week for Zimbabwe to spend a month there with our daughter. Bill Rose, another old friend of Bart, and I will raise a glass to Bart in Africa, which will be fitting, in a kind of way.

    I ‘m sure that when the children are grown up, if they’d like to hear more about their father, and the sort of things we got up to in Durham (not v exciting!) , I would love to be able to meet them and talk to them about Bart. I never stopped thinking about Bart in the last few months. But now my thoughts are with you, Anna, and your lovely children. I know you are strong but it is a sad, hard journey and I would love to help in any way. I’m sure we’ll all gather again soon, in any case.

    Love and best wishes

    Mike Petrie-Ritchie

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  3. Dear Anna,

    Chris and I want to send you and your family our good wishes and sympathy. I don’t think we’ve met but we are friends of Sally and met Bart many times over 25 years, enjoyed his company and have read his blog with enormous admiration for the way he, and you have managed a horrendous few months.

    I cannot imagine how hard it must be to lose the father of a newborn child and a 3 year old. Sally tells me you have been amazingly strong.

    Our thoughts really are with you and we send kindest wishes,

    Helen (& Chris) Smith

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