The Lady in the Car
Miss Ann Naysmith
1937
Born in Southend, London.
1945
Moved to Hounslow.
1946
Won a place at the Royal Academy of Music
1955
Took a job teaching music at the Marist convent school in
Sunninghall, Berkshire.
1960
Taught music at Trinity College of Music in London.
1961
Ann’s music career took off; she played Beethoven, Bach
and Debussy at Leighton House in Holland Park, London.
1962
Bought a car – a Ford Consul
1967
Ann starred in a series of concerts at Wigmore Hall
1972
Gave up her music teaching, ran into financial problems.
1973
A romance with a choral singer failed.
1974
Evicted from her flat at 22 Prebend Gardens, Ann moved into
her car.
Miss Naysmith today
Miss Naysmith is still living in her car, as she has done for the last 30 years.
She wears clothes made of rags, scraps of discarded umbrellas and pigeon
feathers. She cooks on an open fire on a nearby car park, where she also
has her patch of garden, and washes in a doctor's surgery. She will not take
hand-outs but is prepared to barter using the flowers and vegetables she
grows.
Miss Naysmith’s lifestyle has brought her problems. She has been targeted
by local thugs and her car was set alight. Hounslow council has offered Miss
Naysmith alternative accommodation but she has always refused. Two years
ago, a new resident to the street launched a campaign to have the car
removed. She wrote to the council complaining that “the car is a health
hazard; it is covered in rubbish, she feeds pigeons there and rats have been
seen coming from under the car.”
The council is concerned for Miss Naysmith’s health, safety and welfare, and must
decide whether to remove the car and force Miss Naysmith into new accommodation.