There are no words.

Helen Lewis is dead.

For forty years she was my comrade, my confidant, my muse, my beacon, my rock, my soul-mate, my mentor, my counsellor, my sage, my heartbeat, my comforter, my champion, my hero, my best friend.

We told each other everything, we knew each other inside out, we witnessed the narrative ebb and flow of every detail of each other’s life, we loved each other unconditionally.

She is irreplaceable. Nobody I have ever met even approaches her intelligence, perceptiveness and sheer comprehension. Nobody I have ever met comes close to her mighty courage, her incorruptible values, her joyous humour and her exquisite temperament. This is a grievous loss not just for me, and not just for her husband and two children that she loved so much, but for the whole world.

She was only 64. It was all so sudden.

I am in shock.

I am inconsolable.

I cannot breathe.

My tears will never stop and I shall never smile again.

Goodbye my precious darling, farewell my wonderful, beautiful Somerset girl.

Pictures: Dic Mortimer