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