rivers2cross

It was five years ago on a chilly spring evening in March 2015 that I met best-selling author Freya North in North London, and photographed her for the Lives & Times book. Freya is an Ambassador for the Bowel Cancer UK having lost a close friend, Hannah Berry, to this awful illness. While we were making arrangements to meet up we discovered a shared love of The Charlatans, so we met before their gig at The Roundhouse where they were promoting their 12th album Modern Nature. We actually snuck into a pub garden (Sir Richard Steele) to have a chat and to take some photos.

Freya was absolutely lovely full of fun and laughter. When we confirmed arrangements on the phone on the day of our meeting I knew immediately from Freya’s warm and friendly voice that I was going to like her. I can still remember how her smile only really faded when she spoke about Hannah, and since Mum’s death in 2016 I can fully appreciate that sense of loss.

Freya was extremely supportive of my fundraising and always took an interest in how mum was doing. I had hoped that Freya would also feature in The Record but we just weren’t able to make that happen. However what I can reveal here is that Freya’s first record that she bought was The Pleasure Principle by Gary Numan. Released in 1979 it reached number one on the UK album chart.

Admittedly I am a little biased since meeting Freya, but I have become a big fan of her books. Not long after our meeting Freya published The Turning Point, which became another best-selling novel for her, and I really enjoyed reading it. It’s been a long wait for the next one, but the good news is Freya is aiming to have it finished pretty soon.

Since our meeting Freya has taken up cycling following major back surgery. In fact she sent me a wonderful photo of herself with Tim Burgess from The Charlatans at Rough Trade in London where she was able to watch the gig from the sidelines as she continued her recovery after surgery. Last year she completed a gruelling 500km ride in four days to raise funds for Medicins Sans Frontiers, and this was a fantastic achievement going through the pain barrier and beyond. I’ve never cycled more than 20 miles in a single stint so how anyone can do this is beyond my comprehension.

Freya is most definitely one of life’s positive people. Kind, caring and fun. I can’t believe that it’s 5 years since we met. I think we need another gig by The Charlatans to meet up again…