Gillian lives in a pretty house in central Greenwich surrounded by books and things she has collected in a long, varied and interesting life. We sit at her dining table to chat. “I got that tablecloth from Sarajevo” she tells me cheerfully, giving me a good mug of tea and sipping at her own coffee. She looks gloriously elegant in cord trousers with the blouse neatly tucked in and beautiful blue cardigan in a style my grandmother would have called “fully fashioned”.
An enthusiastic supporter of the arts she chats about concerts she’s been to and art galleries she’s visited and most of her anecdotes and memories feature former students or staff. When she was at Benenden she appointed first Mike Purton (former principal horn in the Halle Orchestra) and then Stephen Threlfall (former sub principal cellist in the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra) to be successiveChetham’s School of Music in his native Manchester. “And now he’s retired from Chets and works freelance. He runs the Lake District Summer Music festival in Kendal, for instance. I go every year and it’s wonderful.” She then mentions Steve’s brother, the actor David Threlfall. He came to the school a few times too and contributed to the artistic mix.
