I met Jo in Sydney in 1996 when our girls were very little. I was struggling to settle into our new life on the other side of the world but found a lifeline in Jo who I met on my first day at Melrose Street playgroup. We clicked immediately and our girls became the best of friends, playing endlessly (and getting up to a lot of mischief) which allowed Jo and I to kick back, drink tea and really get to know one another. Over the course of the next couple of years we spent so much time together. When my son was born it was of course Jo who looked after Rosie for the day and when James arrived the playdates continued with all four children.

I have such fond memories of the boiling hot Christmas we spent together with the girls wearing nothing more than their nappies and Peter cooking dinner on the BBQ. I also remember dinner at ours - before long there was the most enormous crash from the bedroom where the girls were playing. Jo remained calm while Peter and John went to investigate the window that the girls had managed to break during the course of their 'play'. This same calm extended to the girls covering themselves and most of Jo and Peter's bedroom in Sudocream as well as Mary giving herself a haircut which resulted in the shortest fringe in history for many months. Jo just didn't sweat the small stuff...........

Jo was always so kind, generous and thoughtful. She was also a lot of fun and we laughed a lot. When we moved back to England - us to Brighton, Peter, Jo, Mary and James to Highgate - we continued to see one another but as the children grew up and life became busier we saw each other less, although we always had the best of intentions to try and meet. Jo, however, ensured that we stayed up to date with Fraser family news and her annual Christmas letter was always eagerly anticipated. 

Jo was a truly special person and feel lucky to have known her.