My name is Annette Trewin. I live in Australia but I have known Jill for over 30 years and have crossed paths with Jill and Tim on a regular basis over that time. Unfortunately, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, planned trips in 2020 have been cancelled and I have not seen Jill since 2018.  I have lovely memories of a strong vibrant woman as we chatted in the kitchen about what had been happening in our lives since we last met, our respective families and how the British couldn’t possibly elect Boris as PM!

When I first met Jill, they were still living in Chandler’s Ford not long before they made the move to New Forest. What a wonderful move that was? We had stayed in the New Forest in 1981 in our campervan and loved it so certainly understood the attraction for Jill and Tim.
We visit UK regularly usually after spending time with our daughter and grandchildren in Norway. Nearly always, we made the short journey down the M3 to catch up with Jill and Tim and our other good friends in the Southampton area, Ruth and Fred Smith. It is hard to believe that on our next visit, we will not be able to see Jill and Fred. We will certainly miss their company a lot.

Jill and Tim came to Australia a few times and have stayed with us when visiting Canberra. They came in July one year. This may be the warmest time of the year in England but it was certainly not in Canberra. We took them orienteering and then downhill skiing. I found an excuse like ‘looking after the children’ for avoiding the orienteering but had to go skiing even though there was a bit of a white out. It showed me that  Jill was prepared to have a go even though she might be taken out of the comfort zone.

Perhaps the most memorable get togethers were the two yearly sessions of the International Statistical Institute. Whilst the men were doing their thing at the Conference, the girls went out to play and shop of course. These sessions were held at exotic places like Florence, Istanbul, Helsinki and Seoul. I may have forgotten some. I think Jill, Ruth and I were the core group but others joined us from time to time.
We had such fun together, times full of laughter and chatter and some of our more memorable experiences were:

-          A Turkish Bath on a hot slab in the suburbs of Istanbul with nothing other than your birthday suit. You had to take your own towels and the hotel room towels were all we could find. I am not sure the Grand Hyatt would have approved but we thought asking forgiveness was better than seeking permission. At the end of this visit the Bath House attendant wanted our towels as a tip but we all decided a she was more in need of a new pair of undies!
We decided to take the local bus on a trip to the beautiful embroidery museum on the outskirts of Istanbul which was quite an adventure as the bus at times was travelling at twice the speed limit  - zigsaging all over the road so we were thankful to arrive in one piece but the trip was well worth it as the museum was wonderful.

-          In Seoul we did a cooking course making the local dish kimchee. No-one was game to eat it so we left in the hotel fridge for the maid. I suspect she would have preferred a tip.

A visit to a hospital in Seoul which we had thought was to see natural remedies prepared turned out to be a series of private consultations and treatments which we were not expecting. The return bus trip was spent comparing bruises from suction caps on backs and all sorts of other treatments that we were not in a hurry to ever repeat!!

Jill and Tim did a lot of things together, much more than is usually the case for couples - golf, walking, orienteering, international adventures, community activities, etc. Tim, she was definitely your soulmate. You will miss her greatly but you have many great memories to share. Over time, these memories will be what you remember most.

Tim, Dickon, Sarah and family, you have lost a mother and a truly wonderful person who was so proud of you all.  Dennis and I will also miss her greatly. Our future visits to England will not be the same. We are so glad we got to know Jill. She was a warm, generous and cherished friend.