March 2009

Darling friends
I suppose this will be a dry old blog, but the time is coming up when Lizzie and I were rehearsing and about to set off for her last great adventure.
There was a very good piece in the review of the Guardian the other Saturday when the artist Walter Sickert was asked if he grieved because he missed his wife, he replied I grieve because she no longer exists, and I think that is how we feel about that most vital, funny kind, and naughty girl.
I believe that if you think of some-one who has gone, they are there, and so we go on. If any-one thinks of Lizzie and comes to this blog, go and see her in the churchyard..please let me know when you do, she has a Man Ray Smile tray, and lovely flowers I would love to know who put them there,
Thank you, love to you all
Eric

From the Guardian...

Belated Thanks

Eric wants to thank every-one in the village who helped to make Lizzie's last day such a special one, your thoughtfulness, kindness, and generosity made an impossible situation not only bearable, but uplifting. We got together to give our lovely Girl a belting sendoff

Lizzie's Party 9/05/2008

Everyone who was there will remember the Funeral and Party as a time of real magic.

The church was packed, and as many were in the sunshine in the churchyard, and able to join in the occasion thanks to the brilliant sound system set up and operated by Mark Travers.

Now Lizzie is at rest in the company of Jackie. and Mhaire , and a visit is recommended to appreciate the beauty of her gravesite.

To all Lizzie's friends in Chearsley and area

Her Mother, Lily, and all Lizzie's family want you to know how deeply touched we were by the thought, time and caring generosity of the villagers of Chearsley in organising her farewell party.

It was a memorable if sad occasion but it is a great comfort to us to know she is in your lovely churchyard surrounded by so much love.

We can't thank you all enough.

Love from
Lizzie's family

Those who wish to make a donation in Lizzie's memory are invited to contribute to a fund to enable her brother William (Billy) Edmiston to continue with his special treatment for his MS. Cheques payable to W Edmiston can be sent to:
K Y Green, 29 Cambridge Street, Aylesbury HP20 1RP.

Lizzie's Funeral

The service of celebration starts at 11:30 am on Friday 9th May at St Nicholas Church, Chearsley, and we hope that as many of Lizzie's friends and acquaintances as possible will be able to attend.



After the service, you are invited to join Eric for refreshments at Manor Farm, just up Church Lane.

Parking at the church is severely limited so please park at Manor Farm - after dropping off those unable to make the 200 yard walk. The church will be clearly signposted from The Green - follow the arrows as the lanes are strictly single carriageway!

How to find Chearsley
The village is situated approximately seven miles southwest of Aylesbury, and four miles north of Thame.

By road: For those with SatNav, 'HP18 0DJ' should get you to The Green, otherwise, this Google Map should help. You can download road instructions plus maps here.

By Rail: Chiltern Rail run a regular service to Haddenham & Thame Parkway, about four miles from Chearsley. There is a taxi rank right outside (Cabco 01844 299444), or call/text Leif (07736 874737) and we should be able to arrange transport. (As much notice as possible, please!) Trains from London Marylebone are scheduled as follows:

• Leaves 09:20 Arrives 10:07
• Leaves 09:54 Arrives 10:44
• Leaves 10:20 Arrives 11:07

or you can download a mini-timetable here.

Lizzie is now in the chapel of rest in Little Kimble, and in a couple of days, if any friends would like to sit with her, they can arrange a time with funeral directors, KY Green in Aylesbury.
01296 482041

I can now confirm, that Lizzie's final appearance will be at Chearsley Church on Friday May the 9th at 11:30 a.m. followed by interment in the churchyard. She is coming back to Bucks today to lie in the chapel of rest in the care of the Aylesbury Funeral Director KY Green..........

Here are some happy memories from the Powells. The splendid house in the background of two of the photos is Compton Verney, one of the destinations we shared with them to celebrate Erica's 60th birthday. The other was of the Georgeous Girl at Amy's wedding.

Latest news

Chris Matthews and I walked to our beautiful church in the village, and I realised there was only one place for Lizzie to be at rest. So am aiming for church and burial.Autopsy confirmed cause of death to be a massive brain haemorrhage,as the lovely Doctor Johan Bernard had assessed. love to all ,keep on blogging, and my thanks for all the fantastic messages from everyone xxx

The Bucks Herald

As 'Klinko' mentioned on Tuesday, our local paper carried Lizzie as its sole front page story : The Bucks Herald.

Thursday 17th April

Eric is back and fine - overwhelmed by the cards, good wishes, and apparent lack of fresh vegetables in his larder...


Two great pictures he brought back: above, the girl herself looking as lovely as ever, and below, the entire cast at the Captain's Cocktail Party on their first night aboard the Oriana.

Tuesday 15th April

Eric arrives back tomorrow morning. He is no longer in email contact on the ship but should be back on his mobile soon. He is planning to spend tomorrow and tomorrow night with Lil, Brother Billy and co and will come home some time on Thursday.
The Bucks Herald is publishing a tribute to Lizzie in tomorrow's edition. I raided Byeways earlier today and borrowed a photo of the beautiful girl for them to use - sorry Eric, but wanted them to have something stunning to put on the front page, where she belongs.
Mellie has suggested we start collecting funny stories and memories of our happy times together. Where better place to store them than this blog? So let's just do it. Click on the 'comments' bit to add a comment, not the envelope, which was the mistake I made, till lovely Leif put me right. He is on standby to answer anyone's technical questions, or even just plain stupid ones like mine!

Tuesday 15th April

i don't know from blog, but hope I can update all, we are one more day at sea, then arrive at southampton where I will deal with the coroner, and Lizzie will be taken off for an autopsy, she will then come home to the local funeral directors, surreally named KY Green..never a nice shade, and then we can set the funeral rites in progress..probably at Oxford crem followed by a wake and later on a celebration..thanks for all the amazing messages of love from all over the world..she was blessed with love

Saturday 12th April

Eric writes that he would like a Humanist service for Lizzie at the Oxford Crem similar to her sister Suzie's.  Because of the paperwork required etc. it is unlikely that the date for this will be finalised before the end of next week. Date and time will be posted as soon as it is known.

Eric is currently in Tenerife and sends  love to all as well as profound thanks for all the wonderful messages of  support he is receiving from everyone around the world.

Thursday 10th April

Hello darlings, I am sorry to say our darling girl left us this morning at 6, though she really went backstage on Saturday in naughty underwear, gold shoes and on top of the world. I think she 

fought so long to make sure she could sail home in style rather than be offloaded in the Canaries, and all that that would entail. I will be in touch later,

love to you all,

Erica

Whereabouts

You can see exactly where Lizzie and I are here:
Oriana

Wednesday

hello darlings, Lizzie continues to defy the accepted norm by
remaining in a stable condition, if nothing else occurs, we will be put
ashore in Tenerife so Lizzie can have scans etc, and then eventually
repatted.....we do the second play tomorrow...more news as and when
love erica

Tuesday

Lizzie is in no change mode, so well looked after by a lovely group of nurses, most of course from Scotland and one pretty girl from Bucks.. they went to see a photo in the ship's gallery from the first evening to see how Lizzie liked her hair, and now she is dressed in best silk dressing gown from Biss vill, and the make up and perfume is there for them to sort her out, the docs, Johan and Courbus, have of course succumbed to her charm, having got to know her because of the prob with the eye, again..

I have just visited her, and there is no change, very peaceful and surrounded by love from all over the world. I am dreading seeing the mighty Mungy, who will take one look at me and demand Livvy!!

we are steaming towards the Cape Verde Islands, it is steamy 84 degrees, but cloudy, and then on to Tenerbloodyrife where Lizzie will be landed if she is still with us.. cheaper for the insurance.. we will see, we do the second play tomorrow and Thursday.. so I am keeping busy..t hough luckily I only have a small part.. no joke intended, having been on stage all the last play, and with the lovely girl for her swansong. on saturday.

Monday

Darlings, the situation is that Lizzie is in a deep coma, and will be slowly shutting down, if she goes before Tenerife then we will sail home to Southampton on the 16th, otherwise we will be in hospital in Tenerife while she is assessed, which would be basically pointless And awful. She is very peaceful, sedated, and having the best care, as she had already charmed the 2 SA docs, as her bloody eye got another scratch on the Tuesday, they had it mended by the Saturday, so having missed one show she immediately donned the sexy underwear, shoved in the chicken fillets, and went on for the matinee.. In our first scene I could see she was misfiring, but put it down to nerves, but she collapsed in the wings, was sick, and soon was out of it.. if there is a perfect exit, that was about it.. despite my misgivings she was determined to do the cruise, and loved the feeling of being a working actress again.. everyone here is being as you would expect. The phone thing is not as good as Email as I am working and in the med centre, and occasionally the odd bar, Email is best.. please pass this on to all and sundry