Memorial to Tanya Burr, killed 15 September 2002

Copy of Fax to Tanya in London, sent 8 September 2002, (NZ time)

Please pass this letter on to Miss Tanya Burr – hotel guest on the night of 9-10 September 2002 (ex- Contiki Tour Participant, Contiki tour EUROPEAN ENCOUNTER BBHXA/072)

 

To: Tanya Burr,

Guest at Royal National Hotel, 9-10 Sept.

Bedford Way,

London WC1,

England.

Fax: 044-020-7837-4653

 

Hi Tanya,

We are still waiting for a postcard or email, but at least I hope you got the fax I sent you last week through the travel agent advising that I had deposited some money onto your Mastercard (10% of what your b…..y car cost to repair last year, assuming you haven’t heard about it. That took some doing too….

I am going to be in Wellington this week at a training workshop for DOC, and return on Thursday. So I guess I’ll take you home with me. Pam is to pick you up at the airport, as I won’t quite be finished then – unless you take a while at Customs. If you wish though, you can sleep the trip off at Pam’s and return by bus or train on Friday (I guess I’ll pay!!).

Anyway, I’m staying with them Monday-Wednesday nights. So if you get the urge to ring home, you would have to phone them at (home) ......... or (work: Pam’s direct line) .......... Pam’s cellphone is ............. Mine is ..........., but won’t be turned on while I’m at the workshop. I guess you’d get away with a collect call to Pam’s phone numbers!! I’ll warn her.

By the way, it transpires that you are travelling home via Bangkok! We had a great little shopping spree at the terminal there, buying carved wooden elephants etc.

Your infernal kitten is on heat and its driving us nuts. With the trip away and then this workshop thing so soon afterwards, I couldn’t get her to the vet. At last notice (last week) your cats were fine Anita said. She thinks they are very relieved to see her. So apparently they miss you. Mine went nuts when we came back.

Everyone else got home safely and without incident. However the jet lag has got us all much worse than the trip across. Pam ended up crashing her car into the garage and caused $600 damage. The first day back is not a good one to drive, as you get dizzy all the time. Then you fall asleep at dumb times of day for the next week.

Russell and Jenna are coming home a week early and leave on the 13th now. They only wanted to come a couple of days early, but had to take what they could get.

Remember that you have to phone the shuttle people to confirm that you want them to transfer you back to Heathrow – and the time I guess. I don’t have the phone number here, but it is written on one of the vouchers in your airline tickets. All I have here is the name ‘Travelplan Auckland’, so I guess their name is ‘Travelplan’ or a UK variation of that. You must be at Heathrow by 7:30 pm, even if that is three hours before your flight.

Remember also that you fly out 90 minutes before the anniversary of the dreaded September 11th, so expect more security etc. However, for that reason, this will probably be the safest flight you ever make. And maybe the plane won’t be so full. Ours was packed.

Anyway, see you Thursday.

Love,

Mum

Footnote: Tanya duly received the fax and brought her copy of it home with her. I found it in her travel documents. She finally got round to posting her postcards home to NZ about a week before flying home. They started arriving on the Tuesday after her death. The reason for telling her she was flying home via Bangkok was that we'd thought she was flying back through Singapore (the refueling stop) where she'd already been stopped from re-boarding our original plane due to her blonde hair in her passport photo. I could hardly explain the entire details on the fax though, as someone else might wonder what it was about. She had been afraid there would be a repeat performance of the 'Singapore experience' on the trip home, but that she wouldn't have Mum conveniently there to rescue her that time. The kitten, which Tanya kindly gave us for Xmas 2001, was speyed the same day Tanya's body was found in Rotorua. As I recall, I was still holding the cat box in my hand at the time I was told Tanya was dead. I had just collected her from the vet and found the police here when I got home. Had I known Tanya was dead, the cat would not have been speyed.