I met Nadia Cattouse in the late 1960's or early 70's - I can't be sure which, but at any rate it was after the height of her fame as a singer/entertainer and after she had been away from the limelight for some time. I was quite young at the time and had never seen her on television and only had a vague notion of her antecedents. For that reason, my current impression of her is not based on her past glory days, but on the sort of person she has shown herself to be subsequent to those days. Knowing her, spaeking to her, observing the way she conducts herself has convinced me that she has become a much more worthy and substantial figure than she was when a singer - even a famous one. In a quiet, self effacing way, she has gone about supporting a wide range of grass roots and community groups and organisations and the events they promote and keeping an alert and critical eye on cultural, social and political developments in the modern world. I hesitate to speculate as to how old she is at the moment, but she has always presented a somewhat serene, ageless and dignified image in public that is never showy or ostentatious. What is more she is today very intellectually alert and physically energetic. Whilst not being reclusive (she puts herself out and about when she chooses to), she has obviously put a value on her privacy, which needs to be respected, for this allows her the time she needs to pursue her wide range of interests. She is one of the most vital and wonderful human beings I have the pleasure to know. She would probably be embarrassed to read this, but there is little chance as I know she has so far resisted the world of the p.c.and the Mac. And incidentally I know for a fact that she is alive and well.

Errol Lloyd