Our Charlotte

Charlotte Marsden came along to the first bootcamp I ran in Portishead along with 23 other people looking to get fitter, leaner and healthier…..and right then she became a challenge to me!! She’d been coming along for a few sessions when she started to slow up bit and found she had real difficulty running as she had a pain in her foot. She soldiered on until she could hardly walk but still she wanted to keep coming. Then on this one particular occasion she said “I love it Donna, but I’m not sweating very much!”

“REALLY Charlotte!” I replied, “That’s because you’re not doing the cardio side of it!” So I had a little think and asked “Charlotte, can you ride a bike?”

“Yes I can!” replied Charlotte

“Right,” I said, “you’ll sweat next time, I guarantee it!”

So Wednesday bootcamp came around and I loaded my mountain bike on the back of my car at 5:30 in the morning and headed off for Portishead. They all turned up ready for action, chomping on the bit to get started and I turned to Charlotte and said, “That’s for you – you’re not allowed to change gear and you have to stay ahead of the rest of us!” She rose to the challenge, we warmed up and Charlotte hopped on the bike. We were doing sprints that day and I had set the bike in a really low gear, Charlotte got on that bike and started off across the park. She’d been going for about 10 minutes, jumping off the bike to perform the body weight exercises with the rest of the crew and then straight back on the bike and off across the park again. Her legs were whizzing round like Catherine wheels, the bike was just staying ahead of us and the sweat was lashing off her. “You’re sweating today Charlotte!!!” I shouted at her chuckling. She looked at me with this huge grin on her very pink face and just nodded – mission accomplished! And that’s how we did it that whole bootcamp and every session she worked her socks off.

At the end of the 4 weeks we have a week’s rest and I must admit I was very disappointed when Charlotte didn’t join up again, but the pain in her foot was restricting her so I could understand a bit of time off. That was back in July 2011.

I didn’t see Charlotte again for a few months, then in February 2012, Charlotte’s name came up on my bootcamp list. “I remember Charlotte” I thought. At the first session, we were getting reacquainted and she said, “Do you remember that pain I had in my foot?”

“Yes” I said. SHE HAD BROKEN A BONE IN HER FOOT!!!! She had still done a month of pretty hardcore bootcamp with a broken foot! Then I realised just how hardy this lady was and I was looking forward to putting her through her paces! It was great to have her back on board. Charlotte kept coming to boot camp all year. She hardly ever missed a session and at the end of every month when it came to sign up again,
there was Charlottes name heading the list. She got fitter, stronger, and leaner and I had to progress the exercises to keep up with her fitness level. Whoever Charlotte was teamed up with, she would shout encouragement and egg them on to do their best. People like being Charlotte’s team mate! She is great fun!

Seb and Olivia, I would be on your mummy’s team any day of the week. She gives everything her all and she does not quit and she is definitely one of the most fun, inspirational and stubbornly driven people I have ever met 🙂 ………and I absolutely adore her!

HUGE hugs.

Donna

I first met your mummy, last summer (2012) at playport, the local softplay. We’d gone there with friends but Zak went running off with you seb & you had a really lovely time. The next time I took Zak he asked where you were Seb, as if you were always going to be there to play. When I saw your mum at nursery, I told her what Zak had said so she invited us round for a play. We came to your beautiful home & also met Jamie & his mummy Helen. You all played lovely while I got to know your mummies. I remember embarrassing myself by asking your mummy “who’s the artist of the family” as there was an amazing chalking of lightening McQueen on the black paint in your toy room – I was surprised when your mummy said she was & that it was her job…. Ooops.

After then you all (Seb, Olivia, mummy, Jamie & Helen) came round to our home to play & I made you what Jamie calls “kathy’s pizzas” & you ate them outside on Zak’s little garden table. We spent a lovely afternoon relaxing in the garden & at one point you all got inside an empty compost bin & carried it across the garden – it was very funny. In the afternoon we scooted to the marina for a delicious ice cream. It was a really lovely day & the sun was shining.

After then we used to meet up once a fortnight at each others houses. Some happy memories from these are – all of you slipping on the mud in the garden, playing in your garden play house, cycling to the lakegrounds & building a big den under the trees, making a space helmet out of a cardboard box & you all jumping off the sofas onto a mound of cushions at ours & finding it hilarious :-). One time you were having so much fun Olivia that you weren’t ready to go home & when we looked at the time it was nearly 7 & Luca was starting to go upstairs to put himself to bed….

Another really lovely day was when we went Thornbury country park – you all went on a bouncy castle and there was an amazing wooden park with a dome trampoline & even an inflatable go karting track which Seb, you & Zak loved. Olivia, you & Luca were to little to go on it but you did enjoy climbing into the one that wasn’t working outside of the track & sat in it to eat our picnic… We then had a walk to see the animals, followed by ice cream & some of the Herman German friendship cake I had made……

Looking forward to spending more fun times with you all.

Lots of love
Kathy (Zak & Luca)
Xxxxx

What came NEXT?

I first met Charlotte when she worked at NEXT in Peterborough in the mid-1990s.

Back then, Charlotte was a strong willed, determined individual who didn’t ‘suffer fools gladly’. To be clear, she did not have time for stupidity and false behaviour. She wanted truth and honesty. These were qualities that she displayed herself.

To be honest, it’s so long ago that my recollection of specific ‘happenings’ is sketchy, at best! I do know that we had quite a laugh working together at NEXT. Suffice to say that, like anyone who is lucky enough to have met Charlotte, I knew I had met a very special person.

I do remember one particular afternoon, when I popped over to Charlotte’s for a cuppa. We spent the afternoon talking about lots of things like friendship, aspirations for the future and………………art.

In talking about her passion for art, her experience of the art world and her desire to make art her life, Charlotte showed me that she was a talented young lady who knew exactly what she wanted from life. It was a great afternoon, at the end of which, I felt that I knew Charlotte a whole lot more than before.

Sadly, we lost touch very soon afterwards and it wasn’t until 2010 when we found each other on Facebook, through former colleagues at NEXT all becoming Facebook friends.

It was so lovely to see that Charlotte had achieved so much. A gloriously happy life, married, two beautiful children, living in a beautiful part of the world and……………………..a very talented and successful artist.

When you meet a soul like Charlotte, it’s hard to see a life bound by the limits that bind us all. Instead, you see something that is never ending.

Steve C

X

Dear Seb and Olivia,

Your mum is lovely!!  I met Charlotte when I first moved to Portishead almost one and a half years ago.  She was so friendly and warm to me and included me in everything from the outset.  I was worried about moving to Portishead and making new friends and Charlotte, together with Sarah, Jude, Ruth and Helen made it a really nice move for me.

Charlotte and Chris were going out to dinner at their neighbours one night and I came over to babysit.  This is the first time I’d seen your house and I was blown away by it (and very nervous about spilling something) but like Ruth said, Charlotte’s normal – no airs and graces.  Your dad made me laugh, he was worried that they didn’t have any wine to leave me and after searching every cupboard, he had his shoes on and was all ready to go off to the shops to buy me a bottle even though they were now late and as I pointed out, I didn’t want to be drunk in charge of children, that I had to actually command him to leave the house immediately and go to the dinner party.  Charlotte ended up opening the bottle they were taking to their neighbours and pouring me a glass (sorry neighbours) – she didn’t realise my fear of spilling something – everything’s white!!

After about an hour, I heard a little whimper at the top of the stairs and there were you Seb, all warm with bed hair sticking up – very cute! I asked you if you were ok but I don’t think you were actually awake and you put your arms out for me to pick you up.  Now Seb, you don’t know my girls very well yet but they are younger than you and much much smaller!! I managed to pick you up and you were so adorable and snuggly and I carried you back to bed and when I put you down, you straight away reached up and started twirling my hair round your fingers.  I let you play with my hair for a bit and then gave you a kiss and you drifted off.

When Charlotte came home, I told her you woke up and I had to put you back to bed and straight away she asked if you’d played with my hair and I asked her how she knew.  She said that is what you do to her all the time and in your sleepy state, you thought I was your mummy.  You have a lovely mummy Seb and Olivia who loves you both very very much.  By the way – I didn’t spill any red wine on the carpet!!

Another memory I wanted to share with you is of your dad.  He brought you two to Daisy’s party last year and you were both feeling a bit clingy that day.  I was struck at how patient and loving he was to you both and how he didn’t get cross.  Olivia, I think he carried you for the whole party and Seb, you were hanging off the other arm.  I tried to distract you Seb but you weren’t in the mood (I told you a very funny story actually and you didn’t even laugh!).  I’m not that patient and would have got cross with Innis and Merrin for hanging off me the whole time but your dad just did his best and tried to make sure you had fun.

Sami xxxxxxxxx

When I was little, ‘Charlotte’s Web’ was one of my favourite books, so when I first met your Mum, I was ready to like her, too.

We met through work, when Charlotte was running the Artlounge Gallery in Birmingham. She was wonderfully supportive and sold lots of my pictures which helped me to make my own career dreams come true. As if that wasn’t enough, she turned out to be an AMAZING person and artist, too. And beautiful.

Your Mum’s smile is so big, you can hear it down the ‘phone. Her warmth, intelligence and kindness are well matched by her sense of fun. She’s a best friend kind of person, not just a work person. I really LIKE your Mum. Your Mum is intelligent and thoughtful enough to tell it straight without being mean. Not everyone can do that. When I think of her, I think ‘friend’ and friends live in your heart always xxx

Finding Charlotte

We meet our artists in many ways but finding Charlotte was perhaps the most unexpected since we met her through my brother in law who has very little interest in art. Nevertheless it was James who said oh my friend’s wife is an artist – a phrase we often hear – and to be honest, it was with a slightly sinking feeling that I followed the link to Charlotte Latham’s work. What we found though was work that was fresh, interesting and definitely a hit with us.

When we finally met Charlotte it was a delight – she loves her work and enjoys talking about it. She’s kind and generous and an inspiration to other artists. She enjoys experimenting and we were amazed and delighted that, unlike some artists, she enjoys working in different mediums, producing works which are very different rather than staying with one style. Her City series in oils were so different  from the Waterbuds series we had seen but still inspiring.

Later on Charlotte introduced us to Andy, another artist,  and we have done both their work ever since, taking Charlotte’s work around the  country to London,  Bristol, Edinburgh and Newcastle. It always attracts attention. For us as a gallery, Charlotte is easy to work with and listens to what we say and always keeps in touch. It says a lot that, when she said she was pregnant for the first time, while we were thrilled for her,  we were  slightly disappointed  as it would obviously impact on the time she would spend painting!  In fact being pregnant was a very creative time for Charlotte when she really wanted to experiment and create.

Artists are imagined to be tortured souls but Charlotte works best when she is happy and content and that shines through in her paintings and inspires the people who admire and love her work.

Some people choose to make a name for themselves. With her paintings, Charlotte  chooses to make the  world a more beautiful place, that is a rare and special gift.

With love
Bill and Deb
Bridgegate Gallery

Hilary Middup has set up a group on Facebook called ‘Charly’s Angels’.

She says, “it’s for the charity 5K ‘race for life’ run in Birmingham in July for Cancer research. I’m running the race anyway but just wanted to extend the invitation to anyone who fancied running together – maybe in Charly design inspired t-shirts!
Maybe if friends are running the same race in Bristol the group could be called ‘Charly’s Angels’ too? Let’s see how the idea evolves!

If anyone would like to get in touch with Hilary regarding ‘Charly’s Angels’ please either leave a comment or to pass on personal details you could email lucie@celebratecharlotte.co.uk and I will pass them on.

A memory from Lucie of a fun afternoon.

Like so many other artists, I owe Charli a lot, she got me to look at my work and reasses it, she got me to work on my stone carving again, which was my first passion, little did she know, I carved a piece influenced by her, the piece was titled – She Moves, she never really knew she influenced the piece. She got me to look at my sensitive side and helped make a dream come true, I actually got to show the world my poetry, I am dyslexic and have always found it hard to come to terms with it, but Charli helped me overcome my embarrassment , she always helped me fill in the stupid forms when ever I was dropping work off at the gallery. We over time became friends, may I say that I always knew where I stood with Charli, there is a look she gives if she disproves of a piece of work. We became friends and she came to share a studio at the barns where I had my studio, but it was always me making the drinks. I can’t remember if she knew how to work a kettle lol. She asked me to show her stone carving, if I’m honest I was a bit apprehensive as she would find out my secrets, but anyway she grabbed the chisel and began, she is a natural 3D person, she should of been a sculptor, although her paintings ain’t to bad lol. She ran the art lounge and boy was she good at it, I used to crap myself when bringing new work incase I got the look lol .
Once she gets over what’s going on, I’m posting her a hammer and chisel and she can carve down there and won’t be any competition up here. I don’t say this lightly, I have met a load of people in life, but Charli is a league on her own, distance means nothing, she is still a real friend, after all She Moves. Rob x

‘She Moves’ by Rob Bowers