My mother, Anneke Siebrand was friends with Lyn from the eighties onward from the time they both suffered form M.E. My mum came back to The Netherlands in 1990 and as good friends they were, they kept in touch. About ten years ago my mum (as did Lyn's mum) started to be 'forgetful' which turned into a full blown dementia. My mum died last year at 80 from this horrible disease. In all these years Lyn and I kept in touch, to keep her in the loop of my mum's not so well being. When my mum died last year I of course phoned Lyn up to ask if she could make it to the service in Amsterdam which she couldn't. I called her two months ago to see if she would appreciate it if I could come by and would she be interested in scatter some of my mum's ashes in a place of her choice in the neighbourhood of Colchester where my mum lived for nearly 8 years. She welcomed the idea so we made plans for a date somewhere around the 22nd of July. I was staying with my sister in the North and a couple of days prior to our meeting I phoned her up but discovered that her phone was disconnected. My brother in law called BT to see if we could learn a bit more (faulty line?) but we didn't and also e-mails weren't replied so things started to look a bit worrying. So I left the North with an unsettling feeling which was confirmed about 6 hours later when I knocked Lyn's door. Only when I knocked one of the neighbours doors I learned the very sad news of Lyn's death. Knowing not what to do and knowing nobody in Colchester I left for Holland and once home wrote a letter to Lyn's address, hoping someone of her family or friends would answer me. Barry was kind enough to let me know what happened two months ago. I have met Lyn only twice, once in the UK and once in The Hague where my mother lived but I spoke to her many times on the phone and I found her a very kind person who was interested in my mum's well being and in mine too. A terrifically nice lady and I will miss our telephone conversations. Roel Siebrand, Amsterdam