Every life holds its own unique story, and few people know that better than local artist Miranda Amapola Symington, who now spends part of her time encouraging the reminiscences of older people living in care homes on the Isle of Wight.
Always fascinated by the past, the former fashion model is an avid collector of everything from quotations and photographs to random “found objects” that she incorporates into her art works.
Finally she has found the time and inspiration to delve into her own memory bank and the result is her fascinating and engaging biography, enigmatically entitled My Name is Not Matilda*.
The book, whose cover features a very glamorous black and white close-up of Miranda from her London Chelsea modelling days in the Swinging Sixties, describes a richly colourful and eventful life that spans a Norfolk farming childhood, her experience of boarding school, the adventure of sailing the Atlantic with her former husband, living on the Island for 40 years as an exhibiting artist, her love of the natural world, and now her enjoyment of grandmotherhood and the thrill of a new later life romance.
Gurnard-based Miranda has written poetry and songs in the past but this is her first book. Written from the heart, it is peppered with evocative photographs, notes and other images that add an extra dimension to this rich tapestry of a life.
* Available on Amazon and at Medina Bookshop, Cowes