Babette
14 August 2021
Andrew Bluett-Duncan
Director
Babette
I am very sorry to tell you that Babette died peacefully at home on Sunday evening. She was in the bed that we’d set up in our main room (that we live, cook, eat and talk in) and she died in the late afternoon of last Sunday 8th August. Despite the ample warning that we’d had, I’d naively thought this would lessen the blow. It didn’t seem to. She was my closest friend, the person with whom I could discuss anything, however controversial, and without fear of judgement and there existed between us a deep appreciation of the other. I suppose this is what is very often referred to as love. Her death hit me and my three children like a sledgehammer, and that is roughly where we still are, as I write this on Thursday morning.
Has it all been misery? No, in fact early that evening, Shirley and Helen, two of Babette’s closest friends came round to “say goodbye” before the undertakers took her body away. We opened a bottle of wine and sat round enjoying memories of Babette, and there was a good deal of laughter mixed in there, along with a variety of other emotions. Josie remarked the next day that she hadn’t expected to be laughing and enjoying herself so shortly after her mum died. She’d expected everyone to just be sad and maudlin. But in fact for us there’s been a mixture of emotions, happy memories that bring laughter, tears of joy, and tears of sadness and of loss, and a few sledgehammer moments thrown in for good measure.
I’m aware that this will have been a shock to you, especially if you’ve met her in the past or felt you knew her through her writing the updates, or maybe you knew her quite well. So, if this describes you, then thank you for joining me, my family, my colleagues, friends and neighbours in mourning the death of a woman who enriched and often challenged the lives of those she met.
My warm regards to you.
Andrew
P.S. If you feel moved to reply to my email, may I ask you to do so here, partly and selfishly so I don’t feel obliged to reply, and I want everyone to see how she has been seen in her life.
For instance, for me she has been such a force for questioning the status quo that, if you have example you want to share of how she touched your life, I’d be delighted to hear it and suspect others will as well.
Thank you.”
So sorry to read the sad news about Babette this morning. I once had the pleasure of talking to her (about 10 yrs ago!) in your Banstead shop when purchasing a coffee machine. She answered all my questions about Le Creuset, knives & wine glasses! Thinking of you all at this difficult time. Mx
So sorry to hear the news, sending condolences to you and your family..
I’m so sorry for your loss. I look forward to reading the updates from you and Babette each week. I have never met either of you, but Babette was clearly a force of nature who will always be watching over you and your children. Xox
Dear Andrew and Family.
It is with great sadness that I read of the death of Babette this morning, please accept my sincerest condolences.
I had the great pleasure of meeting you and Babette, between Christmas and New Year about 10 years ago at your old warehouse in Reigate. At the time I only knew you as ‘The Riedel Shop’, I was totally unaware of the ‘Art of Living’ side of your company, this was soon corrected by the truly wonderful Babette. Babette introduced herself, then introduced me to you, you were busy with your computer no doubt checking to see if you had made enough money over the Christmas period to retire. I am sure that you were keeping good company with many other company owner/directors, I have done the same in my business, a retail outlet in Surrey that I owned for 18 years, with very often all of us concluding that we must continue on as before, something that I am greatly delighted that you have done.
I was treated by Babette in the same way that I had spent all of my career training my staff to do, something that was very rare indeed, and from that moment in time I said that this is a business that I am going to do business with forever. I have managed to do so, not as much as I would have liked, but when you are in your seventies your household goods purchases are less than before. I have however passed on your company’s details, both Art of Living and Riedel Shop to my family and friends, it is surprising how often at family and or friend’s gatherings that the two names come up. Everyone has nothing but praise, greatly appreciative of the service that they have received, I could not be any happier as I know that you truly deserve that praise.
I cannot begin to imagine just how many people that Babette inspired, I know that I was not singled for special treatment, this was just a truly remarkable person going about their everyday tasks, giving excellent service and making people happy.
I know that I have been truly blessed to have met her, and the world is a much poorer place for her passing. My thoughts and prayers are with you all at this time.
Malcolm Witcher
Andrew I’m so sorry to read your message this morning. As you say, not unexpected but that doesn’t lessen your loss in any way, and however prepared you think you are it still hits like a sledgehammer. My deepest condolences.