Jocelyn Noel came on at least four of my garden tours and she travelled with me extensively in Italy, England, France and Holland. She died on Nov. 19 at the age of 99. Her funeral was held at St. Mary’s Kerrisdale Anglican Church Dec. 7.
We were not close friends in the sense that we saw each other regularly or were routinely in contact with one another, but we did spend a lot of time together during tours.
I often think people are at their best when they are relaxed and on holiday and having fun.
And therefore I also think that the time I spent with Jocelyn on the tours included some of her happiest and most fun moments.
We certainly had a lot of fun travelling together.
In 2010 in London, at the start of my West Country Garden Tour, I remember a particularly memorable moment.
She had just arrived at our hotel in South Kensington, after her flight from Vancouver had been diverted because of volcanic activity in Iceland. She was a little grumpy after the long flight.
I found her in the bar of the hotel arguing with a waiter over the price of a gin and tonic.
Her first words to me were: “Stevie, this is outrageous! They want to charge me for the gin and the bottle of tonic separately . . . outrageous! And the price is ridiculous.”
So my first act on meeting Jocelyn was to buy her a gin and tonic. It would not be the last time I did that.
She told me all about her life growing up in Nelson and her success as a musican and teacher and how she had raised six sons.
Throughout the West Country England Tour, she made a point of sticking close to me.
Wherever I was, there was Jocelyn.
This is why I have lots of photos of us together . . . at Stonehenge, at Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, in the Lost Gardens of Heligan, in the pub in Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds, in a sidewalk cafe in Paris and many other moments. She was always a great convesationalist and she laughed at all my jokes, so we got on like a house on fire.
In Taunton, Somerset, Jocelyn decided to take a bath and got stuck in the old Edwardian tub. The sides of the bath were just too narrow.
She was trapped in the bath for a long time. She drained the tub because she thought it would help her to escape but it didn’t. She keep re-filling the tub with hot water to stay warm.
Her room mate, Else Wollaston, eventually returned to the room, heard someone banging on the wall and entered the room to find Jocelyn stuck in the bath. With great difficulty, she managed to pull her out.
On my Holland-England Tour, we visited a vast complex of 200 show gardens at Appletern, south of Amsterdam.
Jocelyn had a hip problem at the time and she insisted that I push her around the garden complex in a wheelchair.
I pushed her through the English garden. I pushed her through the Italian garden. I pushed her through the French and Chinese garden.
But when we got to the Japanese-style garden there was a classic humpback bridge leading down to a fountain and pond.
I was not very familiar with the nuances of pushing someone in a wheelchair. In fact, I had no idea what I was doing and I almost dumped Jocelyn into the pond.
We went up one side of the bridge and rocketed down the other side. I almost lost control but by the grace of God I did not. And Jocelyn did not end up in the water . . . but she almost did.
She laughed. I laughed. Everyone watching thought it was hysterical. But it could have ended badly. I bought her a gin and tonic to make up for it. We often talked about this incident.
In France, when we were staying in a luxury hotel close to the La Madeleine in Paris, Jocelyn insisted that I carry her bags to the bus.
Her bags were big and heavy. But she did not want the hotel porter to carry them . . . because she didn’t want to pay him a euro a bag.
She said she didn’t trust him but I knew that was not the real reason. She wanted me to carry them. So I did.
She smiled all the way as I struggled with the bags and she kept telling me to be careful.
At the end of our Holland-England tour, Jocelyn went to Selfridges in London to have her hair done.
As the hairdresser was finishing up, Jocelyn said she was having chest pains.
Selfridges quickly called and paid for a taxi to take her to hospital. They told her to forget about paying for the hair do and she was whisked away to St Mary’s hospital in Paddington.
I visited her there and found she was sitting up in bed, happy and cheerful and glowing from all the attention. The doctors found nothing wrong and discharged her with a clean bill of health.
My wife and I took her back to the hotel in a taxi and the first thing she said when we got into the hotel lobby was: “Stevie, get me a gin and tonic!”
Yes, Jocelyn was a character. Eccentric, talented, full of energy and life, great company and always ready for a party. Life with her was never dull.
I will remember our times together with great fondness.
