I wanted to share my story of knowing Alison. We met when our little boys Theo and Hugo were at Little Oaks nursery together. They had a fantastic time together and we had lots of play dates. I will never forget the Thomas the tank sets that Alison had got for Theo. Hugo thought they were so amazing! We spent many afternoons in the little playroom at Alison's house.
In 2009, we both decided to set up our own business: she set up Menus for Mums and I set up my language clubs. It was good fun sharing stories and experience of working for ourselves either over a cup of tea at JJs or in our kitchens. We both felt less lonely and enjoyed bouncing ideas off each other. She worked so hard at making Menus for Mums a success and she succeeded!
At that time, she also decided to take on an allotment, in order to produce some of the ingredients that she used in her recipes. I don't know how many of you saw what she took on then. That allotment was in a pitiful state, but she worked so hard at it that she turned into a workable surface. I quite fancied the idea myself, but thought it was too much work on my own, so I asked Alison if I could join her and share the work and the produce with her. My most memorable moment was when we got a tractor to deliver a load of manure... I can't believe we did that! It took a few days to spread all the stuff. We must have been completely mad! We did this for a year and then realised that going to Waitrose was a lot easier.
That is also the time when Alison decided to move Theo and Anou to a different school and so sadly we lost touch a bit, being both busy in different directions. I wish I had made more efforts to catch up with her more often and this has taught me a lesson. Off course, there is always a lot to do in our everyday life, but it is important to make time for friends.
One thing we always did, was wave at each other from the car. Living in the same area, we used to cross path several times a week and sometimes a day and we always exchanged a wave and a smile...
I am glad I got to know Alison and that she was part of my life and I will never forget her...