A great number of people have read my post about Daphne Astor, which suggests how many people were devoted to her.
I have some additional memories.
One was when I was trying to find out more about the architect, Philip Johnson. I had an instinct Daphne might have met him as he was part of her father’s Harvard modernist circle. I asked her. She said, ‘Oh yes, we used to smoke dope together on the double bed of his guest house’.
Then, I totally left out Micky who she married in 1979 and probably rescued her from a rackety life. We travelled with them in a lorry on a memorable visit to La Ribaute. They shared a passionate interest in organic farming, the land, ecology and everything else.
Then, totally selfishly, she was an early supporter of my blog. She was, slightly oddly, doing an MA in creative writing – was it in Falmouth ? – and would ring up if she liked something, particularly during COVID. I didn’t know that once-upon-a-time she had been a professional photographer.
Finally, someone has kindly sent me a link to her obituary. It may work. It did for me. There you will discover much I didn’t know, including her mother’s side of the family in the wild west.
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 