Dear Seb and Olivia,

Your mummy is a fantastic woman – an excellent, supportive, funny and straight talking individual – she’s remarkably talented, yet very modest about it and as a friend – someone who has proven to be so special and essential to helping me make Portishead my home.

She is a discerning person with an excellent choice in friends (clearly!) but has created a legacy here in Portishead of a tight knit circle of strong and committed friendships bound together by similarities – and the eccentricities (!) –that Charlotte recognises in us and herself.

My very first meeting with your mummy was as two harassed and exhausted mothers at the Gym Academy – both with crazy 2 year old boys catapulting at full speed down the inflatable runway (that’s you Seb, and Billy) and newborn baby girls strapped precariously to our fronts (that’s you, Olivia and Daisy). Within 5 minutes we’d established we had both just moved to Portishead, knew nobody and needed some sanity. I have certainly found it in the many subsequent hours we have spent together. I remain truly grateful to Charlotte for getting me through those difficult first few months in Portishead.

There are many funny stories that spring to mind – meeting you, ‘Zeb’, and wondering quite how the translation worked –before your mummy told me of her time growing up in Germany and that she actually had to learn English when she moved here as a child. I couldn’t believe that this was the only clue to an otherwise perfect English accent. Your mum’s love of German traditions extends to the love of all things Christmas – that crazy mechanical Christmas toy (all Christmas decorations present and correct on the 1st December!) and particularly those little ginger biscuits covered in icing – a permanent fixture on my Christmas list now too.

We’ve had all sorts of fun – dragging you both, and Billy and Daisy, round Court Farm in sub-zero temperatures wondering why no one else is there…. and nearly smoking the house out and exploding the bottle of maple syrup on pancake day. And then there’s the first ever boot camp your mum and I did, and her courteous request for my opinion on varying colour schemes in your hallway – and swift realisation I didn’t have a clue…it still helped make up her mind though! We’ve had many ‘clean vs tidy’ discussions (obviously we know a house does not have to be tidy – ever – to be clean!) our crazy cats, the juicer, the great Christmas and Halloween parties.

Your mum and I both love the theatre – she did such a brilliant job of getting me organised, out the door and indulging in something we both loved (yup, even the crazy mime performance which turned out to be absolutely brilliant!). And I had a brilliant grown up night out at one of your mum’s launches – where I was very proud to be mates with the artist!!

My only disagreements with your mum are clearly based around health and safety (go on Billy climb it…..Seb – GET DOWN!!)

Seb and Olivia – your mum has been a great friend to me – someone I feel naturally comfortable with and who is on my wave length. She has organised fabulous parties – with every detail considered and her artistic flair and panache evident in the decoration! She has very high standards of behaviour and discipline – manners, eating all your dinner, please and thank you – consideration for other people are constantly on her lips and will have given you the best possible start in life to becoming the wonderful people you will inevitably grow up to be.

She is utterly generous with her time – and a proactive and supportive friend – turning up to help out when I had hurt my leg and being one of the few people I would leave my small babies with and not worry.

She is utterly dedicated to you both – in every fibre of her being. She chose not to return to her work but to spend as much time as she could with you both when you were small. A decision no one could ever have predicted would have been so important.

I am here to talk to you whenever and however you need. Your mummy is a glorious friend, a fantastic wife to your daddy, and someone who has made such a positive impact on us all.

Jen