David Karlin

Here are David's remarks at Miriam's funeral service:

“We will remember my mother in words, in poetry, in music and in prayer”.

Introducing Manhã de Carnaval:

When I spoke to my children to tell them about Miriam’s death, my son Samuel told me “you know, Daddy, she’s not really dead because a little part of her lives on in everyone who loved her”. Many parts of my mother live on in me, and this next part of the services touches three of them: love of travel, a facility for languages, and a love of music.  While music has played a large part in my life, it has played an even larger part in the life of my nephew Toby, Michael’s son, who is just starting his first semester at Berklee College of Music in Boston.  Toby cannot be with us today, although I’m glad to say that he was able to visit my mother in the last few weeks of her life. However, with the help of a bit of Internet magic, we were able to record this piece of music together: it’s called “Manhã de Carnaval”, it’s from a Brazilian musical, and was one of my mother and father’s favourite records. We’d very much to play it to you now.

Introducing Anne Dickinson Phillips:

Another part of my mother which very much lives on in me is her attitude to business. In her chosen industry, public relations, an industry which epitomises spin and presentation, she somehow managed to adopt an approach which was completely straightforward, no-nonsense and down to earth, with an astonishing facility for seeing things and people as they really are. It’s something that I’ve very much tried to emulate in my business life. I’m very glad to say that Anne Phillips (at the time Anne Dickinson), who was chairman and managing director of Kingsway and my mother’s boss for many years, is here with us today and has agreed to come and say a few words about her professional life.

Just before we said the Mourner's Kaddish:

As Danny has said, my mother was not a religious person: in fact, I think that Alison’s and my wedding was the only time in many years that she had been in a synagogue. Nonetheless, she thought of herself first and last as Jewish. The most important prayer in the Jewish liturgy is the Kaddish, which is usually said by mourners.  However, the Kaddish is not a prayer about death, it is a prayer that gives glory to God.  Some Jewish parents would say that the main reason to have children is to have someone to say Kaddish for you when you are no longer there and therefore can’t do it yourself. I would therefore like to ask my brothers to come up here with me to fulfil that duty and say Kaddish.