Personal Assistants and Friends

Diana

Diana Brewester, London secretary, personal assistant and good friend, was preceded by Katrina Garforth-Bles who was with me from a few years after the time Jacqueline Cooper had moved on. Jacqueline loyally, albeit casually, assisted me from circa 1967 until the end of that decade. 

Jacqueline seated next to me in the 1960s.

Due to her tender singing voice, Jacqueline became a folk singer for the band in which I played saxophone. I still have her recording of Those Were The Days, made famous by Mary Hopkin. It was in a high register, sweet as honey, so soothing and every bit as enchanting as herself. We were engaged to each other for a while, but circumstances intervened in a hectic world where the times engulfed so many. Hence we drifted in completely different directions. Before the end came, she said "I know life with you will always be exciting, dramatic and never be dull, but you must choose. Say the word, and I will stay." I told her to move forward in that other direction. We never met again. I thought I briefly caught sight of her once in the heart of busy London. She seemed more conservatively attired than I remembered, more mature, more grown up. Barely recognisable. 

The group, above, shows Chips (guitar), Jacqueline (vocals), and Bob (drummer) in a rehearsal room. Apologies to other band members not mentioned, or shown. I took the photograph.

Katrina, seen standing next to me, below, followed Jacqueline as my official PA, and held that rôle until Diana, pictured at the top of the page (when she modelled professionally), took over. Hence, Diana became my personal assistant from early on in the 1980s. I adopted her as the sister I have never had, being an only child, and was distraught when she unexpectedly died in December 2003.

Katrina with me on a photo shoot.

What all had in common was that their first occupations were identical. They were professional (mostly photographic) models. Katrina was with Storm, a top London model agency, and with the single exception of Jacqueline, all were from a privileged background and education. 

Katrina was landed gentry, and I was close to them all. I was briefly engaged to Jacqueline, a teenager at the time. Katrina was an absolute darling and wanted to marry me. However, though I loved her dearly, I viewed her only as a friend with whom I had a great deal in common. Humour was always the cement that bound us. Likewise, Diana, but she had never expressed any desire to marry me, even though she adored my bloodline and with it all the Byronic connections. Sarah, of course, I did ask to marry me within six months of meeting her. We have now been joined in that sacred union for the best part of three and a half decades. She is the most important person ever to enter my life, and I love her unreservedly. She was a ballerina when young, graduated with honours in drama and dance (Creative Arts), sings, acts and models, became my last muse from the moment we met, and is an accomplished sculptress, as well as a capable creative artist and designer.

 Sarah, pictured alongside me above, has assisted jointly in everything I do. She is indispensable.