Issue 63 — November 2007
In Memoriam
Joan Cook – Joan, who lived in Cardigan Street, died in October at the age of 87. She was born in Fenny Stratford in Buckinghamshire but lived most of her life in Oxford. Joan loved the theatre and spent her working life as housekeeper at the New Theatre. Indeed there was always something of the glamour of the stage about her – from the days in which she was a dresser for Danny la Rue. Joan was a very popular person in Jericho, and one of her activities was playing the piano at St. Barnabas School. For many years Joan had the quiet support of her husband Bob. Her life began to change, however, after he died and she retired. But she enjoyed life and was always full of fun and optimistic, even in later years after a series of strokes, a broken leg, and more recently being mugged in Great Clarendon Street – when a group of Jericho young people came to her aid. We will remember Joan as a good and generous person.
Christiane Sourvinou-Inwood – Christiane, who lived in Jericho Street, died of cancer in May aged 62. She had lived half her life in Jericho, moving here with her husband Mike Inwood, a philosophy don, over 30 years ago. Her origins were in Corfu but like many other students she came to England after Greece fell under military dictatorship in 1967. She was an internationally distinguished expert on archeology, history, religion and the theatre of ancient Greece, and held posts at Liverpool, Oxford and Reading Universities – a popular teacher and a very hard worker. Christiane was just beginning a second career as a writer of detective stories under the name of ‘Christina Elfwood’. Her first book, Murder Most Classical (Vanguard Press), whose sleuth is an ancient Greek priestess, came out in English just a month after she died. Our sympathies to Mike.
