Miss Naysmith was a familiar sight around Chiswick and various parts of London for more than four decades. She was always ready to stop and chat and was extremely erudite when she did. She would discuss music, musicians and composers but always made time to fuss my dog and would remember in forensic detail his last show wins since we had talked previously.
This would be unremarkable neighbourliness were it not for the fact that Miss Naysmith spent most of her adult life living on the street – or rather in her car until it was forcibly removed when she decamped to a nearby station car park. There she tended her garden until that too was destroyed by an unthinking council.
Miss Naysmith was rather enigmatic (amongst other things, her forays out of Chiswick included meetings with her stockbroker!) and fiercely independent. She was one of the most principled people that I will ever have the privilege of knowing.
Sadly, having survived the vicissitudes that life threw at her, Miss Naysmith was hit by a lorry in the early hours of the morning and died at the scene.
She had studied at the Royal Academy of Music and worked briefly as a pianist before misfortune struck. Therefore, the RAM has set up a scholarship in her name and we hope that you will help us to raise funds to assist a talented musician to further their career and help us all to enjoy the live music that Miss Naysmith so loved.