Extraordinary

PAM was a small person with a big heart and boundless energy. She was the youngest of three children and we grew up in various parts of London. Our brother Michael was several years older, but Pam and I were only two years apart and were very close, doing most things together. We even caught the same childhood illnesses, though she generally came off worse than me. When she was 14 she met Phil, who was in her class at Nightingale secondary school in Wanstead, East London. He was the love of her life and they married when she was 19 and he was 20. At such a young age, they decided to become pub managers and took on a large pub in Eastbourne on the South Coast. Pam was hard-working and learned to do every part of the job. Before long their children came along — son Jay, followed by twins Abbie and Fay. She took care of them while running the pub with Phil. By the early 1980s, they were back in London, running The Grapes, a lovely Victorian pub in Shepherd Market in Mayfair. In 1984, it was used as the location for an American TV Christmas special starring Perry Como and the singer and dancer Ann-Margret.