Bernardine and Lucian Freud
Bernardine Freud, who has died aged 68, had many talents. She was an exceptional gardener, a job she did professionally; taught writing – both creative and literacy; published poems, articles and books under her maiden name, Coverley; and was an expert at tango.
She loved to travel, spent several years in Morocco, went to Cuba and Russia as soon as it opened its borders, and in order to venture through South America, taught herself Spanish. On her 60th birthday, she announced she wanted to spend more time in Mexico, and not long after set off there to work in an orchid nursery in the mountains. On returning, she wrote a book about her experiences, Garden of the Jaguar: Travel, Plants and People in Chiapas, Mexico, which she published herself in 2010.
Bernardine was born in London to Irish Catholic parents who ran a pub in Brixton. Evacuated during the second world war, and sent away to a convent boarding school from the age of four, she developed a fiercely independent spirit, and when the family moved to Ireland when she was 15, she did everything possible to get back to London. It was the late 1950s and she had already discovered Soho and the nightclubs of Notting Hill, and caught a glimpse of Lucian Freud, who was to become the father of her daughters.
She was an extraordinarily practical and resourceful person, feeding her family from her own garden, teaching herself the Irish drum, taking an Open University degree in English literature and never letting anything stand in the way of her dreams. She took huge pleasure in nature, and the last 16 years of her life were spent in the Suffolk countryside, where she made many friends and led an extremely full and varied life, teaching, writing, gardening, dancing and always making time for her children and grandchildren.
Although she parted from Lucian when her daughters were young, they remained on friendly terms, last visiting him just a few weeks ago, bounding up the stairs to where he lay in bed, never imagining that she would only outlive him by four days. She died two weeks after walking into Ipswich hospital, where she was diagnosed with cancer.
The day before, although not feeling her usual vibrant self, she had been at Rumburgh drum camp, in Suffolk, attending an Egyptian dance workshop and playing the bodhran.
She is survived by Esther, Bella, by her son, Noah, and by four grandchildren.
Bernardine was born in London to Irish Catholic parents who ran a pub in Brixton. Evacuated during the second world war, and sent away to a convent boarding school from the age of four, she developed a fiercely independent spirit, and when the family moved to Ireland when she was 15, she did everything possible to get back to London. It was the late 1950s and she had already discovered Soho and the nightclubs of Notting Hill, and caught a glimpse of Lucian Freud, who was to become the father of her daughters.
She was an extraordinarily practical and resourceful person, feeding her family from her own garden, teaching herself the Irish drum, taking an Open University degree in English literature and never letting anything stand in the way of her dreams. She took huge pleasure in nature, and the last 16 years of her life were spent in the Suffolk countryside, where she made many friends and led an extremely full and varied life, teaching, writing, gardening, dancing and always making time for her children and grandchildren.
Although she parted from Lucian when her daughters were young, they remained on friendly terms, last visiting him just a few weeks ago, bounding up the stairs to where he lay in bed, never imagining that she would only outlive him by four days. She died two weeks after walking into Ipswich hospital, where she was diagnosed with cancer.
The day before, although not feeling her usual vibrant self, she had been at Rumburgh drum camp, in Suffolk, attending an Egyptian dance workshop and playing the bodhran.
She is survived by Esther, Bella, by her son, Noah, and by four grandchildren.
No comments:
Post a Comment