Imogen Palmer

Gill and I first met when we were at Cheadle Hulme School in the late 1970s/early 80s. We were close friends in our early teens, spending much of our time out of school together and constantly on the phone, chatting and giggling, driving our parents mad! We lost touch when we left school to go to university, then in March 2014 I was over the moon to get an email from my old friend, suggesting that we meet up. I was so excited to hear from her! Although it had been so many years since we had seen each other, it didn’t seem to me that Gill had changed at all. She still had the same lovely smile and looked just like the teenage girl that I remembered from all those years ago. It was at that time that Andy had just been diagnosed, with his illness and while I was overjoyed that I was back in touch with Gill, it was so sad that she was having to face this heartbreaking situation at such a young age. We met up every few months after that for the next few years. I would always come up from my home in Sussex to London and we would spend the afternoon at the Tate or the V and A, catching up on our news – those afternoons were always far too short! I found Gill to be incredibly brave through Andy’s illness and after he had died, she never seemed to feel sorry for herself but was always thinking about how it was affecting other people. Although I have never met Zak and Mia, I feel like I know them through all the lovely stories I heard from Gill and the pictures that she showed me – she loved you both very much, and was so proud of you. We had both had two children, a boy and a girl, so we had a great deal in common and as Zak and Mia were a few years older than my children, I benefitted from some very useful parenting wisdom from Gill!

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I saw Gill shortly before the lockdown but then once the pandemic hit, there were no more trips to London’s museums or galleries for some time. We kept in touch throughout, and it was such a joy to finally see Gill again in April 2022. We had a wonderful trip to the Tate Modern and lunch on the Southbank, and arranged to meet in again in July or August, after her holiday. I am so glad we had that afternoon together.

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I send heartfelt condolences to Zak, Mia and all of Gill’s family and friends, she was a very special person and I will never forget her.