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In Memory |
Julia's funeral took place on Friday 22nd April 2005. Charlie Hardwick, a long-standing friend and fellow Poetry Virgin, read this tribute:
One thing Julia loved was how everyone gave in to her whims. She was often discovered at home with the yellow pages open on Funeral Directors, looking longingly at the Horses. So here we are in the Chandelier Room at the Old Assembly Rooms, majestically borne in a horse drawn carriage. The nearest to a state funeral I've ever seen. Julia, you have your horses and chandeliers.
This tribute arrived last week on Julia's web log: 'Whenever I spent even a moment in her company, I came away renewed, bestowed with precious gifts - optimism, energy, humour and encouragement. Julia's capacity to do this was unstoppable - her memory, her influence, spurs me still.' She had, in the words of one her poems, "the kind of light that electrified the ordinary." ......
We could just leave it there as this probably sums up everything that everyone here feels about her. But we didn't want to short change you all. The difficulty is in, like Julia herself, knowing where to stop.
The absurd, the sublime, the ridiculous are all things that appealed to Julia and moulded her into a fantastic story teller in a myriad of forms; poetry, plays (both radio and stage), novels, songs, you see what I mean about not being able to stop once you start, publisher, performance artist, presenter, workshop facilitator, mentor,... I suppose the point is — You couldn't pin her down.
Her poetry began as a comment on her life when Scarlet and Florrie were little, and thousands of others found it easy to relate to whether it was Buying Bra's or Buying car's and landing yourself stranded on the cold M1... with your Big end gone. Gradually, her words became a comment on her illness, dealing with the hospitals and doctors, creating a bold, new language for bodies, pain and loss that made it easier for everyone else to face, as she did.
Julia was an instigator, she was always happiest when collaborating with others. Writers, painters, glass artists, sculptors, musicians, photographers, performers, on books, postcards, exhibitions and public art projects... I'm off again aren't I terribly sorry.....
She loved company. She was a fantastic hostess. The food, the drink, making sure everyone was well served and looked after. Many of her schemes and plans began round the big wooden kitchen table, with candles (even in the daytime) wine (often lots of it) and loads of laughter. It would go something like this: You'd all be having what you thought was a normal night out round at Julia's, laughing, telling stories and suddenly she'd pipe up with:
'I know, why don't we do a performance of this in the Albert Hall next June?' Next June, you'd find yourself standing on the stage at the Albert Hall, terrified, but duly, giving a performance.
If Julia's life was a bus route — it would be the number two, swerving through the Dene at breakneck speed, passing front doors, back lanes, furniture shops and picking up pensioners, parents and kids, with a final stop not too far from Fenwick's deli. A winding road, with curves and bends: never a straight line.
In the weeks following Julia's death, over 120 emails were sent to this website with memories and tributes. Just as Julia defied classification, so do these messages. We have therefore simply arranged them in the order they arrived, and you can start reading at the beginning or go directly to part two, part three or part four.
On Tuesday 16 January 2007, the BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play was The Waiting Room, assembled by Jackie Kay from Julia's web diary. We have received some messages from listeners, which you can read on this new page in this section of the site.
Obituaries have been published in The Guardian (by Jackie Kay), The Independent (Sean O'Brien) and The Times. There was a fine tribute in The Journal on Tuesday 19th April. The University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne has placed a tribute to Julia on the University website.
BBC Woman's Hour carried a tribute on Thursday 14th April, and if you follow that link you can listen to a replay of the item. The BBC also reported the news on their website.
Sarah Crown, writing on the Guardian Unlimited website, said "Her unfailing optimism, honesty and generosity charmed and moved her many readers."
The Blue Room, where Julia read often, have posted a tribute on their website (scroll to foot of page), as have proudWORDS and Ellen Phethean, the other half of Diamond Twig Press.
We invited donations in memory of Julia to these charities:
The Trust was started in 1993 by a group of women in the North East to raise funds to offer small grants to women who are affected by breast cancer, to make them feel better and more in control of their circumstances, by responding to those needs that they themselves identify. The Trust offers money for the purchase of 'treats' and 'luxury' items as well as providing grants for basic needs.
Jean Spence wrote from the charity to say:
We received more than £1,500 in total. Bittersweet, but I know Julia would have been happy to know that so many women with breast cancer have been able to have good times and treats from the money donated in her name. The Trust is about joy, laughter and hope and this is what Julia was to us all.
Thanks for everything you've given us Julia, in life and death,
Jean xx
Donations to Maggie's Centres matched those to the Breast Cancer Survival Trust. The Centres are for anybody who has, or who has had cancer, as well as their families, their friends and their carers. The aim is to help people with cancer to be as healthy in mind and body as possible and enable them to make their own contribution to their medical treatment and recovery. Julia visited the Maggie's Centre in Edinburgh and wrote about it in her diary.
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Last updated on 20th April 2006 by Roger Cornwell.
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