my dear Janet
 
we are not related but you are part of our family.
 
You have given us so much and always thought of yourself last. When we came to visit you or when you made the long journey to us, you always had something for each of us, even if there was no special occasion. You’d talk to us and make us see things in a different light when we were stubborn and didn’t like ourselves. You would help us assemble furniture, putting the curtain up in our homes, start cooking in our kitchen after carrying delicious food in your carrier bag across London on the tube and train and bus, with a bottle of champagne in your heavy bag and holding little Otto in the other hand. We studied manuals of cars and gadgets together, you helped us with documents and paperwork, you told us to be nice to granny and how best to pack a car to make everything fit in there. You always had a solution for a DIY job and whatever tool we needed, you had it.
 
You enjoyed good food and we shared your passion and often sat together at home with the delicious duck from Wing Yip. You also took us and your good friends to the Tao Tao restaurant in Soho or the Dragon Castle and you would wait patiently seeing us enjoying. When we needed a witness for our documents, an adult in charge, a driver, a chef, a travel agent, a gardener, a friend or sister, you were there for us, always. Over the years all of us sought your advice and opinion and while it was every so often a serious start, in the end we mostly laughed.
 
We went together to visit family in France and Germany, enjoyed a break in sunny Portugal and dinner in Hong Kong. You gave us Otto to look after when you travelled the world and we listened to your stories when you came back. You and Manfred weren’t upset when we broke things in your house or when I tried to lift Otto up on his leash to get him onto the bus (I’m much more careful with him now, really).
 
There are so many things we had planned to do together this year and if it hadn’t been for lockdown we’d have asked you to join us again for a little adventure in England, Europe and as far away as China.
 
It is hard to let you go Janet. You’ve made us feel to be your family and we had your trust, something we hold very dear.
 
Thank you for all Janet. There are so many people that miss you now, most certainly your lovely family but also many friends, not only at IMO.
 
We love you and we miss you dearly.
 
 
Love
Sascha, Lynda, Arthur and Lenka