"Fat lady", Jennifer Paterson (1928-1999).

London--Television viewers in the U.K., Canada, and various other countries were saddened to learn of the recent death from lung cancer of Jennifer Paterson, co-presenter of the "Two Fat Ladies" TV cookery show.

Miss Paterson, who found fame late in life, had a succession of jobs during her lifetime, eventually becoming the cook for the Spectator magazine's weekly luncheons. There she became acquainted with many famous people such as Graham Greene, Sir Alec Guiness and Prince Charles. Spectator editor, Charles Moore (now editor of the Daily Telegraph) had the idea of getting her to write a food column for the magazine and this in turn led to the BBC TVB engagement, in which she was teamed with Clarissa Dickson-Wright.

The series was an instant success, mainly due to the ebullient personalities of the two presenters. Each week they visited different locations in Britain, ranging from breweries to Boy Scout camps to convents, and delighted the residents with gourmet menus.

Miss Paterson was outspoken, good-humoured and eccentric. She was jolly to the last and seemed to laugh at her own fate. However, unlike so many media celebrities, she did not laugh at her religion; being Catholic informed her whole outlook on life. She loved the Mass and, while filming the TV series, she and Miss Dickson-Wright would drive for miles around the countryside on their motorcycle to fulfil their Sunday obligation. Miss Paterson particularly loved the Latin liturgy which she attended at the Brompton Oratory in London. It was fitting that, with her motorcycle helmet placed on her coffin, she should be buried from there on August 18, 1999.