Obituaries was accessed by foot, and for many years accompanied by a Valentine (Val) Arnold-Forster child-filled pushchair or pram. Whether in London or back at (née Mitchison, 1948) Carradale, Val regularly found herself overseeing and cooking for households of sometimes 40 people or more. Born in Hammersmith, the During the 1970s she began a new career as a radio critic youngest of five surviving for The Guardian: a job that offered her a ‘space’ of her own, children, Val’s family moved to professional status and somewhere to enjoy freedom from the Carradale House, on the west challenges of domestic life. Here she flourished and found a coast of Scotland just before the voice: exercising her intellect, her enjoyment of people and a war. She developed self-reliance playful sense of humour. Her social courage and her generosity and resourcefulness as her towards people less fortunate than herself were equally siblings went to boarding school, inspiring. And her confidence was contagious. However, that before she herself moved to confidence was sometimes more fragile than it seemed, and Badminton School in Devon. VALENTINE ARNOLD-FORSTER this period also covered a time of immense stress and trauma Admitted to read PPE at Somerville, Val soon changed to Law at home, not least when her beloved husband Mark died on and showed herself to be precociously clever and intellectually Christmas Day 1981 after a prolonged battle with cancer. gifted. With social skills to match this, while at College she became friends with, amongst others, Shirley Williams, Tony With the arrival of her first grandchild in 1990, she began an Benn, Roger Bannister and Bill Rogers. important new stage of her life. She loved newborn babies but Moving to London, she became a reporter, initially on The Daily equally sustained her interest and involvement in every stage Mirror, and met her future husband, Mark Arnold-Forster, in a of their lives, generously offering her time and home to this coffee shop on Fleet Street. Her engagement was noted in the next generation of her family. Val’s later life was spent sharing press. She told her sister, Lois, ‘I had quite a monstrous picture time with friends and family, and enjoying her independence. of me in The Evening Standard. On the front page, though it She moved to a care home with her brother Av and sister didn’t last through the editions’. Moving to Islington after their Lois, where she lived until her death on 27 May 2023. Her wedding, Val was soon mother to Kate, Sam and Josh, rapidly legacy was one of love and connecting with other people, of followed by Mary and Jake. Val never drove, about which she caring for others and - in return - enjoying their company and felt a mixture of pride, regret possibly, but also defiance. Life friendship. In this respect, she lived a gloriously abundant life. 36