Elspeth Thompson.

Hello dear readers, this will just be a short post, because I feel the very sad passing of Elspeth Thompson should be marked, and the tragedy of her passing dwelt on.

I only knew her through her blog and her book, and regarded her as a lady of gentle insight, great elegance and imagination, and I was in awe of her.

Her obituary can be found here. I feel tremendously sad for her family. Life can be very cruel. Her last post on her blog was on the 7th March, and she talked of Spring and hope and her new blog, and now that has been swept away.

Her poor family, my heart aches for them.

I shall see you on Wednesday my dear readers. Love and take care. Vanessa xxx

Comments

[gill]

today's post is just perfect
gill xx

[Lucy@Attic24]

Oh Vanessa, me too, I feel soo soo very saddened by the news I learnt just this morning about dear Elspeth, it'e like I carried a lead weight around in my heart all day.
I was going to try and write my ta-dah post today for my little zigzag blanket, been trying to write that post for almost a week now and cannot for the life of me find the time or space to do it. And now today I feel so sad the words will not come and it all seems so trivial anyways. Oh dear. Sorry to be all maudlin in your comments, but you wrote just what I was feeling abotu wishing to remember her.
Love and hugs
Lucexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[jane smallcombe]

I have just read Elspeth's obituary in the Telegraph. So tragic.

Jane x

[Lyn]

I too posted about Elspeth yesterday. It is such a sad thing to of happened and I keep thinking of her 5 year old daughter, so sad.
Lyn
xxx

[Kate Bruning]

That depression is such a plague - it is amazing how much light and dark one person can hold. I have just been adoring her homemade book and used so many of her projects for the boys' parties so Elspeth Thompson has been firmly in my mind. We share so much in our blogs and recieve so much support for all the wonderful things we do, it makes me think how much support would be there if we needed to share hard times as well. Thank you so much for your post Vanessa and all of my love for you today. Lots of love, your very greedy friend Kate xxooxxooxx.

[Siobhan]

I just found out this evening, firstly on Jane Brocket's blog. I feel very sad too. My first and only gardening book is written by her, and I read it from cover to cover. It lead me to her lovely blog. You never know what people are really going through behind the smiles do you? A terrible and sad thing for her family to come to terms with. Thank you for remembering her with empathy and sensitivity and for sharing your heart-felt thoughts. It is as you say, a tragedy and hard to understand.
Thank you Vanessa x

[sumea]

this is a very beautiful and sensitive tribute Vanessa. your images are so lovely and touching.
i too was shocked at the news and feel deep sadness for her family.

love and hugs to you xxxxxx

sumea

[Mandy]

So very sad. A fitting post, Vanessa. x

[Lucille]

Thank you Vanessa. I'm so glad you found the words that I failed to express when I marked her passing. I have been thinking about her such a lot.

[Steph]

Isn't it so terribly sad. She must have been sufferring so very badly to have felt compelled to leave her family who she clearly adored. Depression is an awful thing. I hugged my darling husband (who carries his own black monster with him sometimes), even closer tonight.

I shall always remember her when my house is filled with the scent of paper white narcissi. A real inspiration.

Such sadness.
Stephx

[Magic Cochin]

I knew Elspeth's journalism and had just read her article on Auriculas on the RHS magazine - I vaguely knew she was a blogger. Her death is a huge shock, I read her last blog pot today and found it so full of hope for spring and new projects. So very very sad ...

Celia

[beth]

I felt so sad when I saw that on Jane Brocket's blog this morning and then read the obituary. It is hard to understand depression and the devastating effects it has, especially when you see someone as so creative and full of the beauty of life. My heart goes out to her family. What a loss. Thanks, Vanessa, for noting it here today.

[Sue]

Thank you for such an eloquent post Vanessa. I too read with shock about Elspeth's death on Jane Brocket's blog. Thankfully I have little experience of depression and even less understanding. I read Elspeth's last post and simply cannot understand how a person can go from such hope and life to such despair. I feel so sad for her family and for all families who live with the curse of depression.

[driftwood]

so very sad x

[Pamela]

I hadn't come across Elspeth Thompson before and I found myself fascinated by all the things she has done in her life and thinking she would have been someone I would have like to meet. And so, even though I knew it was her obituary I was reading, I was desperately sad to find out at the end that she had taken her own life.

[frances]

Vanessa, how beautifully you have written about a very creative, generous soul who has left us.

Having read read Elspeth Thompson's last post, I was astonished to learn the news. This, even though I also have friends who've suffered depression. Yes, as another commenter wrote, it is always important to hold our dear ones with care and understanding, and to treasure that connection that we make with each other.

xo

[Wendy Rhys Jones]

Thank you Vanessa,you are a sensitive soul. As an earlier blog said, it makes you hold your own precious ones a little closer. You just never know do you!Elspeth sounded like an amazing lady, what a loss for her family. Love and xx Wendy {:0)

[Barbara]

Elspeth's blog has always been one of my "must-reads" - I loved the way she made her readers part of the family, sharing her plans and dreams - I am so sad for her husband and her little daughter Mary who has lost both grandmother and mother in the space of a year. That lovely book with its cloth cover written with Ros Badger becomes even more precious now and I love the way you decorated it in her memory. Too sad to write more, love Barbara

[Jennyff]

I was shocked and sad to hear the news this morning, dreadful for her family. She was a very special person, I wonder if she realised just how many lives she touched and inspired.

[Alexis]

So sad. Depression is a horrible and cruel disease.

[lindaschiffer]

I first learned of Elspeth when I stumbled across her blog on the transformation of the railway carriages. How terribly, horribly sad! My heart aches for her and for her loved ones...and for all of us that are now deprived of her essential beauty.

Linda

[maggie]

I found it incredibly moving to read the last lines of her obituary... there is something devastating about a person taking their own life, and as many people have said, this came as such a shock as she seemed upbeat in her last posting. But depression can be like that I know. Terribly sad for her family, for all those whose lives she touched.... and for her too. I had, coincidentally, just taken her book off my shelf to work on a project from it, when I switched on the computer and read about her death.

[Carole]

Oh Vanessa,
How sad that is, i love Elspeth`s Homemade book. I received it from my daughter for my birthday. Thank you for letting us know and your sensitive post.
Love from Carole in Rossendale xxx

[monica]

tragic. That's the only word I can think of.

[kate]

My heart goes out to her family. Such a loss to all. I'll be remembering to hug my friends when I see that they're feeling down. Depression is a silent thief.

[Jenni]

I had only recently discovered Elspeth and her beautiful photography on her Blog, she had an uncanny knack of seeing the most beautiful in everything around us. Such sad news and how tragic for someone with such light to be struck down by the dark. She is in my thoughts as are her family and all who loved her. She has touched many this week.

[Val Reaves]

Only by your post did I discover her... It is so easy to dismiss a sadness that can follow someone... but it can kill, and it does. In reading her obituary, I'm saddened by her passing. I'm going to encourage those who I know struggle with this...to let them know that I care, and that I'm here. Thank you for your post.
Val in Kansas

[Penny Graham-Jones]

I've just realised that the Elspeth Thompson you mentioned in your previous post was the very one who's new blog I had started following. I feel like you stunned and very sad that someone who appeared to have so much to live for should have been stricken with such despair. Thank you for writing about it so beautifully and saying what so many of us feel. It's just tragic...

[busybusybeejay]

Such sad news.What a terrible thing depression is.I feel so much sadness for her little girl.

[jen]

I wrote about Elspeth on my blog yesterday and just commented on Lucy's blog about it. It's amazing how you can really feel like you know someone when you read their words. I feel so sad for her daughter and her husband.

[Natalie Wales]

Thank you so much for your post, this is just so very sad. My heart is aching for this lady and her loved ones. And Lucy..don't EVER think your blog topics are trivial..I love them and very often they are the highlight of my day..Vanessa,I adore your blog..thank you for writing it as I'm sure it's a lot of extra work for you...take care and thanks again for your perfect post.

[Vintage Town]

Vanessa I thought your comments on the passing of Elspeth Thompson were beautifully articulated - what a terrible tragedy.

[Jaymee]

Oh my goodness! So so so sad :( My thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends xxx