Razia Sharif-Choudhry
Mum of two, home tutor and freelance journalist
Essex

Favourite thing: Mum’s scarf

Mum’s scarf is my favourite thing because it just reminds me of her. These are all her favourite colours. She was a very vibrant person and just loved lots and lots of bright, vibrant colours. And that’s what made her, her. You know it was all part of her personality. She was the life and soul and this just reflects that about her really. And I love it.

“It’s there and it smells of her”

Whether I’d wear it or not, I don’t know. But it’s there and it smells of her.

She wore it a lot, whether it was draped across her shoulders, her arm, sometimes even in her handbag. So she’d have a handbag and she’d have her favourite scarf or something that was coordinated with what she was wearing in one of her handbags and it was just sort of hanging out. Very nice.

I remember her wearing this when Aadam (Razia’s eldest son) was born, which is another reason why it’s precious. When she came to visit Aadam for the very first time, to London she was wearing this scarf.

I have a few of her scarves that my father gave me: I didn’t take all of them. I’ve got about 3 or 4 of the ones that I remember her wearing and the specific occasions when she was wearing them. And those are the ones that I took because they mean something.

“It’s not the materialistic things… that are precious; it’s more the things that have sentimental value”

I think that’s so important though because it’s not the materialistic things, the things that have monetary value, that are precious; it’s more things that have a sentimental value but are irreplaceable. If I were to ever lose this, I wouldn’t find another one, I wouldn’t have my Mum’s smell on there or all the happy memories, the happy times that I saw her wearing it.

“She was just sort of polished and finished, and that’s what I remember about her”

And sometimes we used to laugh at her because she’d get all dressed up and she’d have a Hermès bag and you know this would be draped across in there. And you know she was just sort of polished and finished, and that’s what I remember about her.

I want to remember her like that not remember her when she was poorly, or any of the sad moments because there were lots of sad moments as, you know, with any family there are. But I think of all the happy moments with this scarf.