It must have been fate that Anneliese and I were seated next to each other on our first day in 1T at Queen Anne’s (QAGS). We became friends immediately and despite being put into different 3rd form classes (I think the teachers found our “exuberance” quite challenging!), we have remained the best of friends for the last 48 years. In an early science lesson, we decided to give each other secret (chemical) agent names. Anneliese was SO4 and I was HCl and we have used these names ever since. She was always a shining star at school, both academically and in extra curricular activities. She was so extraordinarily talented, but always modest and kind to others, so it was no surprise when she was appointed Head Girl. However, she would have been the first to admit that sport was not a favourite. We still laughed about her always turning up to hockey late as, for each “wasted” minute , the teacher made her run a lap of the hockey pitch, never realising that this was a deliberate evasion strategy! Despite heading off on different paths, we always kept in touch and I remember well the dreadful worry when she was reported missing in Mexico and the excitement of discovering she was alive and well. When she became ill on her return and subsequently diagnosed with ME, we would see each other when I visited my parents in York and it was heartbreaking to see her physical frailty, although her inquisitive brain was still busy, looking at the wildlife in her parents’ garden and perhaps creating some early rhymes… It was such a joy when she met Mike and the greatest honour when she asked me to be her bridesmaid. It was the most perfect sunny day. She always took a huge interest in my two boys and they adored her back, especially when she decided to be their Fairly Goodmother! I will miss her smile, her enthusiasm, her hoot of a laugh, her memory (so much better than mine), her wit and our ridiculous and often bizarre conversations, that were probably quite baffling to others! I am so sad that due to COVID we were unable to fulfil her dream for us to drive together, Thelma and Louise style, in our old convertible. It was the last thing we laughed about in the Hospice. Until we meet again. Love HCl xx