MAGICAL DAUGHTER WHO TOOK ON THE STASI

I WAS always close to my wife Kristina’s daughter, Christina (who we called Flossie, to avoid confusion) and had known her since she was a teenager. After Kristina and I married, Flossie often came to stay, or she would meet up with us on our travels around the world. I use the past tense because she died of a particularly aggressive form of cancer in 2016, leaving a huge hole in our lives. In her final weeks and months, we were pretty much together all the time, either at our chalet in Switzerland or with her in Cheltenham at her beloved house, where she stabled her horses and lived with her four adored dogs. We knew every day, every hour and every minute were precious and were determined we would make the most of what time she had left. Through round after round of treatment, travelling back and forth to London, Flossie remained bullish, brave and fiercely determined. She had achieved so very many things in her 40 odd years, more than most people might in 80 years, and if ever there was a consolation it was in knowing she had lived life to the full and enjoyed every minute. The b*****d cancer finally took her from us in July 2016. I never imagined anyone could cry so much as Kristina did. No parent should have to bury a child. It’s the cruellest, most awful thing you can ever imagine. Kristina was unable to speak at the funeral — it was all she could do to be there in the face of horrific grief — but she asked that I share some personal memories of Flossie. I think this sums her up: When Flossie was about 16 she was travelling to Berlin with her school when they were stopped at the border crossing by the East German police. Flossie’s passport photo had been tampered with and changed, and not very professionally either. The train was held up for seven or eight hours waiting for the Stasi to arrive and investigate. Flossie freely admitted that she herself had changed the photograph, which obviously set alarm bells ringing. On being asked why, she replied matter-of-factly: ‘Because I didn’t like the old photo!’ That was Flossie. She was truly unique.