It has been many years since I was in your Czech lessons at Leeds Uni, dear Petra. I think we had our last lessons in April of 2010 and I hope you were not ill back then. I remember how kind and fun you were in our lessons, and never strict even if we did not have our homework completed in time. I was sorry to hear the university was no longer wanting to continue paying for the lessons but I remember you saying you would do more interpreting instead. I sent you an email at the end of our semester saying I really appreciated what a great teacher you were however I don't think it reached you in time before the university closed your email address as the course had been cancelled. I remember one day it snowed and the school was shut so you bought Misa and Toni in and Misa played with a tablet whilst Toni sat drawing and then I helped Toni zip up her snowsuit. I only found you were ill when I returned from my year abroad via my Russian teacher James who was part of the Czech Society and was very sad to see you had passed not long after I had learned you were ill. Wishing you and your family peace and fond memories of you -x-

Thinking of you Petra xxx

Thinking of you today, Petra. Happy Birthday! I recently visited Prague (finally) and it made me feel very nostalgic and slightly sad to think back to our Czech lessons. Before I got went, I got out the Czech textbook we used to use and tried to remember some things. You'll be pleased to know that when I got there, I remembered more than I thought I would (and smiled at the word 'vepřova. You know why!) My favourite memories of our lessons are the Czech Christmas cookies (I think I ate most of them...) and talking about Czech Christmas transitions. You told me about how you decorate the tree and have to hide it from the kids until the grand unveiling, and how it's tradition to eat carp at Christmas. I remember when the snow was bad and I had a two hour one on one lesson with you. You challenged me but it was great! I remember bumping into you three times in one day in the student union and you jokingly asked if I was stalking you. What can I say? Clearly we both have great taste in shops and cafes! One of the funniest memories was when you brought your son to our lesson and he kept shouting out random czech words during the lesson. None of us could keep a straight face. When I found out you'd passed away, my Russian teacher told me there would be a memorial service at the Emmanual Centre. I decided to go and got talking to some people who asked how I knew you. When I told them I was one of your students, they were all really happy and said how nice it was to meet one of her students. That made me extremely proud. They say time is a healer but the fact is, you never forget the people who make a positive impact on your life. I hope that your family and friends will get some comfort from reading the memories I have of you. - Louise Parnell, German and Russian (and Czech!), University of Leeds, 2008 - 2012