I walked into the Festa’s house for the first time in 1993 when I was dating Carolyn’s nephew Stuart. Stuart was keen for me to meet his ‘favourite Aunt’ and I remember standing in their kitchen in Bowes Road while Stuart went off to find Carolyn and left me with Carly who must’ve been 11 or 12 at the time. Carly stared at me for a really long time, summing me up, while I tried to engage her in conversation. I was 18 years old at the time and from the first moment I was introduced to Carolyn, I adored her. She was so welcoming and so full of life; she just had this energy that I cannot put into words.

At the time I met her, I had just lost my mother to cancer the previous year and my grief was all consuming. I was covered in eczema. She told me ‘darling, you’re wearing your grief.’ And then she gave me a remedy. I had never heard of homeopathy before and had know idea what it was, but after a year of using useless medical creams from the doctor, I was ready to try anything. And bingo, just like that, within 48 hours my eczema began to disappear - it was like she’d given me some magic beans! I think it was from that moment that I trusted her implicitly.

Through Stuart, I saw Carolyn and all the Festa’s regularly. I babysat for Carly & Julia and even chaperoned Carly and her friends on a very memorable birthday outing to Chessington World of Adventures. (The less said about that outing, the better!!) 

Long after Stuart & I split up, I stayed firmly in touch with Carolyn. She had become in her words and mine, my ‘substitute mother.’ Through my 20’s I had repeated kidney infections and ended up in the Royal Surrey. I will never forget her storming into the ward and coming to my rescue as I was surrounded by a group of well-intended but unsympathetic nurses who were persisting on painfully ‘trying to find a vein’ while I was sobbing. Carolyn yelled at them all and told them how disgraceful they were! She was a force to be reckoned with and I felt an enormous sense of relief that she was there. She had a habit of being there exactly when I needed her. Through her nutrition advice and following treatment, she cured my failing kidney.

Over the years, Carolyn influenced so many aspects of my life. She taught me everything I know about nutrition, homeopathy, vaccinations and healing. She was always the person I went to for advice and when I went on to have children of my own, she was my first port of call when they were sick and of course with all of that knowledge she gave me, it shaped how I brought them up in terms of food, medicine and faith. I introduced my husband Lee to Carolyn early on, before we got married and despite never having any experience with alternative medicines himself, he came to trust her as much as me. Carolyn always championed Lee. That was what she was amazing at, making everyone feel special. 

I will miss her terribly, I will think of her always and I will be forever grateful for meeting her. 
I’ll never forget the remarkable person she was or the huge impact she had on my life. 

Louise X