RIP Sam Badham

I knew it was only a matter of time before I recognised one of the victims of the 7/7 bombing. This was Sam Badham, who was PA to the Chairman of Quantime, my first employer in the UK. She was killed instantly in the Russell Square Tube bomb, and her boyfriend, who was with her, died yesterday without regaining consciousness. Sam was a real live wire, or a "hot ticket", as my sainted mother used to say. She was a ray of sunshine in a somewhat grim job. After Quantime was sold to SPSS, she remained as PA to the head of the Market Research division, and was on her way to work when she was killed.