Rachel Broster's funeral arrangements
I have to bring you the very sad news that another of our members, Rachel Broster, has passed away.
Rachel and her husband Phill Harris have been members of the club for many years with Rachel joining in 1993 and Phill in 1987 (incidentally, I'm pretty sure that Phill was the first Serpie to run 100 marathons).
Rachel hugely enjoyed running, especially in our wonderful Central London Royal Parks as well as in Richmond Park. She would regularly turn out for club races, particularly enjoying our summer Grand Prix events, as well as competing in the Masters League track and field competitions and the occasional cross-country race. For a long time, Rachel was also very involved in organising the club's social events and she was so welcoming to newcomers to the club.
Rachel was a keen supporter of our Last Friday of the Month 5k races, initially as a competitor and more recently as a key member of the organising team, where she would often supervise the finish area. Living in Chelsea, Rachel and Phill were also my Hyde Park eyes and ears, letting me know about “works” in the park.
In recent years, Rachel became a Nordic Walking Instructor, taking a group that included a number of Serpies on walks through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens and introducing us to parts of the parks that we don’t normally see on club runs. And, of course, finishing off with coffee and cake at the Hyde Park tennis club.
It was a privilege to know Rachel and I’m sure you will join me in sending condolences to Phill.
Malcolm French – malcolmfrench1962@yahoo.com
Updtae 21 Feb: Phill's asked me to circulate details of the webcast for his wife, Rachel's funeral, which is on Wednesday, 24 February at 4.30pm.
The service is being live-streamed via https://www.wesleymedia.co.uk/webcast-view where you'll need to enter the webcast login "order number," which is 79138 and password, mdarzzea in order to access the webcast.
If you would like to watch the service after the original webcast has taken place, you will be able to access an "on demand" facility in the same way as the live stream. Please log in as outlined above and you will be taken to the on demand page where the webcast will be available for 7 days from the date that the service took place.
Rachel expressed a wish that there should be no flowers and that any donations should go to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home - https://www.battersea.org.uk - and Royal Trinity Hospice - https://www.royaltrinityhospice.london
Malcolm French - malcolmfrench1962@yahoo.com
Submitted: 13 February 2021