Rhonda Blunden (05.11.64 - 08.05.06)
Rhonda sadly passed away peacefully at home, after fighting cancer. She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her. Following are a couple of tributes from her friends. Please send any tribute you would like to make to Lotte and copy Robin, Julie, Claire, Amanda and Kit.
Tribute to Rhonda by Kit Hammond:
I laughed with Rhonda before we had exchanged a single word. It was my first exposure to Madan Kataria's brand of laughter-for-no-reason at a Laughter Workshop in October 2002 and there was a lot of 'Fake it! Fake it! Until you make it' going on. There was nothing faked about Rhonda's laughter; it seemed to explode out of her with spontaneous joy again and again. As we progressed through the day I found myself increasingly drawn to her and I knew we were going to be friends.
As I got to know her better I learned that she was wise and insightful, grounded and centred, patient and kind. A Reiki Master! Ah ha! That explains that.
She was a disciplined and organised worker who functioned brilliantly in chaos. An academic who never skimped on the theory. She was warm hearted and good without much emphasis on the Ten Commandments. She just was.
I remember belting up the M1 in her environmentally friendly Prius with at least 6 inches of clutter - water bottles, tapes, toys, papers and assorted detritus - on the floor and seats. We were on our way to do run a laughter session. It was my first experience of driving with Rhonda and her ability to read her directions without slowing down from 90 mph evoked in me a sensation of awed alarm. That was Rhon to me; she pulled off perfectly outrageous things with a practiced calm and would have been astonished if you had protested. And I never did - not once. Not even when she was exchanging text messages with a well-muscled Fireman at 80 miles per hour.
It was the same when she got ill. She knew my qualifications (as a cancer survivor) and without saying so in so many words it was crystal clear that Rhon was going to do this Her Way. She was an immensely private person and never once did she put her cards on the table and say, 'This is where I am and this is what I want.'
You never needed to explain things to Rhon. She got it in one take.
A week before she died I went over to spend the afternoon with her sorting out her laughter toys. She was very frail by then and sorted through her toys by touch in the dark. Because it was a long process I worried about overtaxing her energy but she was determined to make all the decisions herself. We had five bags: Laughter Network, Charity, Rubbish, Kit and Rhonda and if she didn't say specifically I got to decide. She handed me a Laughing Cow I had given her. I pressed its hoof to make it laugh.
'Is that what that was?' she asked 'Mmm Hmm.' 'Oh no. I want that.' So into the Rhonda bag it went. She kept all the presents anyone had given her – as if she was hugging people to herself as long as she could. 'What's that?' she asked me once. 'That's from the Unilever Treasure Hunt.' I told her. 'We did have fun, didn't we?' 'Oh yes, Rhon, we did!'
Tribute to Rhonda by Julie Whitehead :
I first met Rhonda in October 2002 at Dr Kataria's Laughter Leader training - even at that first meeting her energy, imagination, enthusiasm for life and commitment to keep seeking and sharing her vast knowledge of wellbeing came through. Rhonda dedicated her house to be a healing centre; never worried that she didn't have space or time to herself - she gave so willingly.
In late 2003 a few of us started thinking about bringing together people around the country who were interested in promoting laughter and happiness and Rhonda was a key player in the formation of the Laughter Network. She leaves her legacy in the Laughter Network Training and latterly went on to work with David Somerville in developing Wellbeing & Happiness Modules at Chester University.
My favourite photo of Rhonda is the one from the Laughter Network flyer, taken on a cold Sunday morning in February on Clapham Common. You can see the laughter bursting from her - full of life and vibrancy, despite sitting on the cold concrete of the common! Another dear memory is 'honouring the chocolate' part of a workshop where we had to express how much we loved chocolate. I think it was really just an excuse for Rhonda to eat some more Green & Blacks, but she managed to turn it into a transcendental experience!
She will be much missed not only by the Laughter Network but by all her associates from the many complementary organisations she was involved in, and leaves a huge gap which cannot be filled. I am sure she is in the light now, happy and smiling, radiant, beautiful and filled with joy. Dear Rhonda, keep la-ha-fing.
