How I love remembering our fun times.  How proud you would be of our Chompy.  He’s a grown man in service to his country.  Thank you for being my friend across the pond. 

This is a photo Marianne took with the web cam to use as a profile photo on facebook.

Sunday visit to  Winston Churchill Park with Paige. This is one of the many parks in Cheltenham and Paige called it little park as it was not as big as most of the parks. Marianne would push Paige on the swing and run through the trees with her. Happy Memories.

A happy day at Frampton, with nannie. We would take her to the pub for lunch and a walk along the river.

Reading all the tributes to Marianne, one thing everyone mentions is how much she gave. When Dave Watts mentioned to Shaun and I that he knew of a 15 year old girl drummer to complete our "new look" Mad Axe line up,we were sceptical but we agreed we should try her out. The rest as they say is history. 
She breathed new life into our band at a time when we thought it might be all over. We dragged her to gigs all over the place and she always did us proud. We practiced endlessly and wrote songs together, some of which survive in the form of tape recordings.We did an interview for the local newspaper with a photo. She looked great in the photo unlike Dave, Shaun and myself !! I'm sure we got much more from her than she got from us wanna be rock stars ! 
I'm sorry for all her friends and family who knew her much better than I. Sadly I lost touch with her but I never forgot her and a world without her seems so unreal to me.We have all lost a gem. 

People forget just how young Marianne (or 'Smug' as she was affectionately nicknamed by the band) was when she became the drummer for 'Mad Axe' - The funny thing was that she was still far more mature than any of the other band members!
Marianne was way cooler than we were - We were loud, brash & cocky, she was easy-going, chilled & very tolerant!
I regularly gave her a lift to the gigs & on reflection remember just how much crap I talked & how patiently she listened, occassionally giving you that wry smile that earned her her nickname
At one gig in Bristol we were the support band - The singer of the headline act started their set by saying "Thanks to Mad Axe and can I marry your drummer?" We gave him a resounding "No!" - We were very protective of our Smug!
It's hard to believe that the girl I remember using an oil container for a drum stool at rehearsals is no longer with us...
It's easy to say now "I wish I had kept in touch" but in reality Marianne brought more to my life in the short time I got to hang out with her than I could ever have hoped to contribute to hers...Rock In Peace Smug, Rock In Peace...

Marianne was always there. I can't remember a time without her in my life. When we were really little at the farm she was always the "Dare Devil". She was the one who cut her head open because she used a rope swing on the tree in the front yard and swung over the stone wall and hit the back of her head and had to have stitches. She was the one on Christmas Day when we got our scooters who went really fast down the concrete path and fell off the path into a bed of nettles. We learned to find Dock Leaves to tend to our stings and cuts. She climbed trees and got stuck so Gramp cut down the lower branches so she couldn't climb up them. We did everything together.

When we moved to town she and I kind of went our separate ways and had different friends at school. It wasn't until we both left home that we really got to know each other. We would write to each other. She would invite me up to London to visit her. We walked miles around London. Her with her map and me getting tired and irritable because she would take us miles out of our way and blocks away from the tube. When she was a drummer for Mad Axe I was so proud of her to be a girl drummer in a male band. Everyone went to see the "Girl Drummer". She would get so hot her hands would sweat and she would lose a drumstick but carry on and quickly pick up another set to play with. She was a cheerleader for me. I never thought I was any good at anything but to her I could do everything. A bit idealistic about me really. It was hard for me to make her understand that only being a year older didn't mean I could out do her. But she always cheered me on. We were like Ying and Yang. Complete opposites but binded together in blood. She was the light in our family. Everyone compared us. Sometimes that was hard for me. Maybe she was a light because she was not to be with us for long. I have cried for my sister. I miss her and love her and feel like I let her down. She is the most giving soul I have ever met. Never said an unkind word about anybody and very compassionate and forgiving to everyone. I hope that where ever she is she will let me know she is alright. I hope she is at peace and able to do what ever makes her happy. We will never forget her. Forever in our hearts. xxxx