As this blog develops I hope you can all post a picture or two and any thoughts about their mum that they can read when they're ready or want to know more about her. So please share this with those that knew the lovely girl and please contribute to enable me to share Ni with the kids as they grow. With love Brian, Amy and Ollie
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
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Never met Nina, but heard a lot about her through you. Your story about your Vegas wedding gives me a belly laugh even today. She deserves a peace medal for going through that!
ReplyDeleteI went to school (Southbank AIS) with Naoko and have many fond memories of her. Initially she was a shy Japanese student but soon embraced the multi-cultural life that Southbank provided. We had a lot of fun at school and became good friends.
ReplyDeleteI last saw Naoko when she was working in a shop in Regent St. I remember walking past the shop and seeing her through the window. She pleaded with me not to come in as it was a rather posh shop selling china and I think she thought I might undermine her standing as a quiet and pretty sales assistant. I did go in and was immediately concerned I might break something. The look on her face; a subtle balance of pleased to see me mixed with a pinch of don't touch anything, remains a lasting memory.
The advent of Facebook reunited us and whilst catching up I learned that she was pregnant with Amy and due around the same time my wife Cleia was due with our second child. This sparked a number of emails with regular updates and photos.
I vividly remember the radio silence when Amy was born and Cleia and I guessing at how Brian and Nina were doing all those many miles away.
I am writing this still very shocked by the news as I have only just found out but the first and resounding thought I have is that I can genuinely say I am lucky to have known Nina.
Amy and Ollie, your mother was a truly special person.
Sam Barton.
So many conversations and tears already passed...still can't believe you won't, we won't see her again.....
ReplyDeleteMany, many good memories to share of Nina and how important and cherished they all are now.....we think of you all everyday especially now there is a void. Brian, Ollie and Amy... Nina/mummy will be watching over...... ;o)
We laugh and joke at the crazy things we used to get up to....which usually involved a social occasion....we all liked those didn't we?!!
Alas there is no happy ending...still a lump in the throat and a tear to wipe away....we are all trying to find the words.....time is the only healer, but over time we won't forget...her memory will be strong and be with us all......
Bri, Ollie and Amy...we can't wait to see you and bring you into our arms....as you grow we will share those stories and have some fun times and fond memories.......
Nina you were truly a top bird, great friend, loving wife and super mum......
David xxx
Ollie and Amy like all the other comments i have to agree your mummy was a great friend, wife and a fantastic mummy. I didn't know your mummy that long but what I new of her she was a truly special person and i am sure she will be watching over you and smiling with great pride cos both of you are fantasic kids.
ReplyDeleteDebbie (Costa Rhu)
I went to school with your mummy in London from 1987 to 1991, a very long time ago!! I left England in 1991 but I still stayed in contact with your mummy until about 1997. I think we were both in university at the time and were both very busy and regrettably we lost contact with each other. She was a very dear friend and I thought about her often. She was very special to me as I had never met anyone like her before. She was a very hard working student and a result your mummy was very smart. Now that I am older I can say looking back, I wish I had studied as hard as your mum!! School is important, but she also had loads of friends!!! Why? She was so very kind and she had a great personality. When I first met your mum she was very shy. But the school we went to was very different. It had lots of people from all over the world and as we were all the same age experiencing the same thing, your mum came out of her shell and became her own person. And this is an important point. The reason I cherish your mum so much is that she was a very good friend. You will learn one day, but the friendship your mum provided to me was one that cannot have a price put on it. She did things like make fun of me, as friends do, but she was always there to cheer me up if I was sad. Something else you will learn is just by looking at the pictures and videos your dad has posted, no words have to spoken, you can tell in your mummy's face..she loves you both so very much.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever have a chance to look at a map of the world, your mummy has friends in most countries..America, England, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Spain, France, Greece and so many more. That is because your mummy was one of a kind. You may not understand what that means now, but it is a good thing.
Brian: as mentioned earlier, went to school with Naoko at Southbank. She was a good friend. My condolences on your loss. There is no way I can say anything to make you feel better during this time so I will share a story which I hope will make you laugh:
Got to know Naoko pretty well and we had some good times together when I started dating one of her friends, Toshiko, which turned into a long distance relationship after I left England. As one would expect, didn't last long. Break up was initiated by Toshiko and a couple days later I called my friend Naoko to sing the blues. After I was done with my blubbering she said, and this is verbatim, I will never forget it: "Don't worry, she'll probably get fat." It was exactly what I needed to hear!! I still laugh when I think about it.
Hang in and take care.
Tom Seidl
Allen Park, MI, USA
Pardon the additional post, but i recalled some stories about your mum after my original post.
ReplyDeleteAs I said before I went to school with your mum. I got to know her well when I became the boyfriend of one of her friends, Toshiko. The three of us did lots of things together. While out after school or on the weekends we frequently ended up at the Haagen Daz ice cream shop in Leicester Square in London. Your mum was funny. While Toshiko and I ordered ice cream, your mum would only order coffee, saying she had to watch her figure and couldn't eat ice cream. Well, while your mum had a strong will, it didn't take for her to ask the waitress for a an extra fork or spoon and eat our ice cream. We didn't mind sharing our sweets as that is what friends do! It became quite the joke as after a couple trips we would order an extra spoon/fork for her..but she would always say.."No, I'm not going to have any." But she always did!
Another funny story is about our school trips which we went on every year. These were very interesting as they were Outward Bound courses. We did things like hike and camp but the point of these trips was for us all to get to know each other and build trust.
I forget what year it was but I ended up being in a group with your mum. The first task for our group was trust building which involved falling backwards off of a picnic table and havign your friends catch you. Your mum was very scared but I'll never forget the look on her face once she had fallen back into the groups arms...she was very releived!!
On that same trip our group was given a task to hike through the country side of the lake district, get to a specific camp site, and camp overnight. We made it to the camp site just fine, but unfortunately, the camp site had been recently visited by grazing sheep and there was sheep poop everywhere!! I have never seen anything likt it ever. Your mum provided us all with laughs. She didn't walk normally, she kind of shuffled her feet to avoid stepping in the sheep poop. She didn't complain, but by the look on her face you could tell she wasn't happy.
Lastly, on that same trip one of the tasks we had to perform was to build a raft out of plastic barrels, wood and rope. Then we had to race another group who also built a raft to the opposite end of the lake. After several debates we settled on a design and got to building. It was a grand raft...until we put it in the water...we were doomed. Our design was good but we did not tie the ropes tight enough, the raft started to come apart and we started losing group members. Now, keep in mind, this was the lake district in September, water was very cold!! Your mum and i were the last 2 on the raft. it was up to us to finish the race. At this point I had accepted my fate..falling into cold water. I turned back to your mum and said something like, "well Naoko, it's up to you and me." She wasn't laughing. In fact she had an iron grip onto what was left of our raft. Don't remember the exact details but we both ended up in the water eventually. She was so mad but after a time saw the humor in it. Even though we were all FREEZING COLD.