I remember you 
Sitting on the floor
Under a table
Determined to make
Paper do what paper 
Was not designed
To do. Determined not
To have a bar of me
And my arty ways!

I remember your 
Tales of boat life.
The time we refurbished
Your Tri-Ang dolls house.
The time you left for Aus
Learning to surf, rolling in
Cresting crystal clear waves.
Blue eyed, white haired
My fiendishly fearless friend.

I will remember you
In Paris, in York, on land
By water, in caravans and 
Community centres
With wine and laughter
Even as illness
Sliced and diced you.
You never stopped
You never gave in.

I will remember 
Opening floodgates
Finding myself 
On the floor,
Under the table
Slicing and dicing
Your presence, 
Your absence
Richer for knowing you.

Margot and I first met in 1994/95 - I was one of the artists working with groups for East Midlands Shape on a project called Edge - this later became an exhibition at The City Gallery in Leicester and I'm glad to say Margot created three pieces for the exhibition. This was quite a feat as our first encounter was less than favourable! However we became firm friends and after the project ended we joined a Samba band for a time - my lack of counting skills or any sense of natural rhythm and the loss of the large drum to hide behind meant that my participation was short lived!

However there was a new scheme called Art For Everyone (later Awards for All) that made it possible for not for profit community groups to apply for funds for arts and wellbeing projects. Margot, Maureen Walvin and Meriel White helped start what is now Back To Books; I mention this as Margot and the team helped me to radically change my working practice and together over the years we have created or participated in a wide variety of projects some of which you can read about here http://myrighthandwoman.blogspot.com/. 

Margot was a fantastic raconteur, full of wonderful stories which we learnt more about during a family history project called Invisible Threads. That project started with me spending an hour on top of the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square 9pm 09/09/2009. Margi and Malc were staying with friends in France at the time but did not want to miss out on the fun so rang my mobile whilst i was sailing out to meet my ancestors! Our friend Kate had told me to turn my phone off but it kept vibrating in my pocket - Margot was not going to take no for an answer, so eventually i gave in. We had a very funny conversation with quite a time delay between question and answer, at the same time the famous Captain John was yelling questions from the bottom of the plinth. It was such a memorable night and I was so happy that Margi and Malc we there with me.

I joined a choir and will never forget the night we performed - for one night only with The Royal Phil and Barb Jungr on the football ground in Corby. I had just flown back from Canada that day, the weather was a weird mix of sunshine and rain and I recall seeing Marg and Malc in the crowd, in their rain gear under a fabulous rainbow, smiling and applauding in spite of the rain!

They both helped me find a caravan to be project base during a project at a community allotment called The Green Patch, this became known as The Mollie after Margot's Mum who had had a dramatic night in a caravan during the terrible storm in 1987. I am the least outdoors, sporty, camping/caravanning type on the planet but I loved hearing about the many family holidays in caravans, boats etc. We developed a very bad habit of talking in a not quite Gloucestershire accent whenever we spent time together, drove others crazy but we had fun.

I could ramble on for ages but I won't, I just wanted to share a little of how much joy Margot (and Malc) brought to my life over the course of 25 years!