Marriage Made in Heaven
Marriage Made in Heaven explores my life from the time I met a singer – Dean Webb in 1963 and the impact this relationship had on my life over a quarter of a century. His first brush with the law eventually led to our separation and to my first marriage which was almost certainly on the rebound. Eventually we were reunited but his time spent in Amsterdam caused problems because he frequently returned there and I never knew when he would be back in London. I had to concentrate to running a business and looking after my son. But the separations and uncertainties were hard to deal with at times. Then when everything seemed to have settled down I was hit with the double blow that he had cancer twice but did not survive the second so suddenly I became a widow.
How did you meet your husband?
I met my first husband when I accompanied my mother to the wedding of my cousin Stuart. Robert was a friend of his and after the reception drove me back to my flat in Marylebone.
At what point did you realise that things were going sour?
We married in June 1968 about 9 months after we first met. A few weeks after the marriage he hit me for the first time. His demeanour had changed and I found he could be verbally aggressive and apparently did not have any qualms about lashing out when there was a disagreement. From the first time I was shocked as I had never encountered this behaviour before – with anyone. However, at that time divorce was not as simple as at the present time and I had taken my vows in church and did not consider these should be broken. During the four and half years of the marriage I was very ill with viral pneumonia, had a miscarriage and finally was pregnant again but had high blood pressure throughout pregnancy. By the summer of 1972 there was just one too many major arguments when I was again hit and I decided I could not take any more.
Please tell us about your background in PR and advertising.
Before leaving school although I wanted to go into the theatre my father insisted that I learn shorthand and typing. I had joined a temp agency and it was through this agency that I joined the advertising department servicing a group of five companies. This gave the opportunity to work on all aspects of advertising including print, press, exhibitions. It was very busy and during this time I enrolled at St. Martin’s College for Distributive Trades in London to study for the advertising examinations. Following this I joined a PR agency and then went to Norvic Shoes where I was responsible for the advertising for their 150 shops. Subsequently I joined Strelitz fashion house as PR Manager where the brief was to raise the profile of the collections to coincide with the exciting developments in the fashion scene in the early sixties. Later I was head hunted to Selincourt as PR Manager for their Linda Leigh collections. I then branched out on my own as a freelance PR consultant still with fashion clients. I spent several years building up the consultancy and then in conjunction with a friend also formed a media representation company that specialized in foreign travel media. I continued with the representation work for many years although I had to dissolve the partnership due to the excess drinking of the partner.
How did you feel when you were reunited for the first time?
Well I first saw him again before I was divorced; he came to the house one day as he thought he had left some of his belongings. When I saw him I was overwhelmed – the old feelings started to flood back. However, it was a fleeting meeting but I was in contact again after the divorce.
What is your first recollection of his first brush with the law?
I was stunned, shocked and totally out of my depth. I did not know anyone who had been arrested; the arrest had taken place when he was out so it was some days before I actually discovered what happened.
How did you react when you found out about his illness?
Very mixed feelings. There had been so much separation in our relationship that for him to be back and settled and working well in the studio the set-back seemed rather unjust. However, I had to keep upbeat and positive to keep him as positive as possible. He had chemotherapy and then radiotherapy but finally surgery which was successful. We were delighted and he seemed to have a good recovery. We married and then around five months later he was diagnosed with lung cancer which was shattering.
Tell us about your training in dance a drama before getting into PR and advertising.
I started ballet at the age of around three years and over time included tap. In my teens I studied flamenco dance. I also studied drama at school and with a drama coach. At most schools I was normally involved in school productions I took part in many productions that were run by my drama coach.
How difficult was it for you to relive the experiences in order to out this book together?
I started the memoir some years ago but put it to one side. When I worked on it again this year it was very difficult to relive the last few years in the book.
What is next for you?
Well I have a few projects in mind. I am revisiting some of my late husband’s recordings to see if I can put together a CD. Also a few years ago I published several editions of a travel media reference directory and I am considering revising this for the present time.