Letters to Andrew: Alison
Editors Note: The Foundation has now officially been born. To introduce ourselves, the trustees, we decided to each write a letter to Andrew to talk to him and tell him what we’re up to. These letters have made us laugh, cry, to feel inspired to work together and to enjoy what we’re doing. We hope that you can glean something from them of what we’ve experienced in losing Andrew and why we are wanting to make a go of The Andrew Gidney Foundation.
I most vividly remember Andrew when he was little – a very cheeky little boy with a big smile on his face.
He was excited about life & happy. He loved cuddly toys, in particular penguins!
I remember that when I used to go up to see Andrew & Christopher (as he was known when he was little) they loved to wash my car … with a big bucket each of soapy water - but they never managed to finish it as they would get bored halfway through!
And everyone in the family remembers, with a smile on their faces, Andrew setting up a sign outside the restaurant by the beach in Nerja, when he was bored of adult conversation, saying "I’ll do anything for a EURO" – his mum Jude was not impressed but what an entrepreneurial streak he had in him, even at a very young age!
Every Christmas, as a child, he would produce a detailed menu card & name places for the table – firstly by hand & then, in later years, on the computer. And he was also a wizz at Racing Demo – a very fast card game that became a favourite amongst the family.
At grandad’s 70th birthday party when we had an Alice in Wonderland tea party, Andrew & Christopher dressed up as caterpillars by jumping around in their sleeping bags!
As a teenager, he grew his hair long, took on ‘an attitude’ & disappeared into his room & his computer, following in the steps of his dad & brother, only venturing out usually at mealtimes.
As a late teenager/young adult, he seemed quietly confident. A good looking young man who knew where he was going in life. I always thought he had the heir of an entrepreneur about him. I remember him, Chris & Jude coming to stay at mine & we went to the local pub to play pool together.
When he was at university, he would send very detailed emails to me & nana about his day to day life, who he was sharing his house with & what he was up to on his course & in his social life. I did pick up on a melancholy undertone in these letters but, so sadly, I didn’t do anything about it or realise what torment he must have been going through in those last few months. He was always surrounded by so much love from his immediate family, nanna & grandad and his aunt & uncle but needed more. I do not want another family to have to suffer as Andrew did & we are, so am determined to do whatever I can to support Jude, his mum, in her relentless efforts to improve the services available to youngsters and the work of the Andrew Gidney Foundation.