Sad news

When you lose a friend it is always a time of reflection, and to think back over the happy times you have shared, the adventures you have undertaken together, and the good times… It is also a time to reflect on the impact the person made on not just your own life, but the lives of others.

Today we learned that a dear friend of ours died last night; he had been ill but it was still a shock. He was such a popular man, and I know has changed hundreds of lives for the better… this is not just a sentimental comment, it is literally true. He was an inspirational teacher, not just at the school where he worked for many years, but in the many other contacts he had with people, especially young people, and particularly through drama and the theatre.

I can remember so many hilarious times together with Nigel… the time we went on holiday together with two other friends, to France. We were sharing a room, and I don’t know if you have been to France and stayed in an old country hotel where everywhere is wallpapered, including the wardrobe and the door. Nigel went into the bathroom to get changed and the door stuck. He was knocking and calling for me to try to get the door open… but I couldn’t find it because everywhere was covered in wall-paper. needless to say I managed to find him… but then we had to find the door out of the room! That may have been the hotel where we had a magnificent meal and Nigel asked to see madam who had cooked it, to thank her. She emerged from the kitchen with her hands covered in flour because she had been making bread.. so Nigel took her elbow and kissed it to say thank you!

Then there was the unfortunate time when he injured his ankle and was on crutches and in plaster for a while. Me being me, I told the children at school that he had been bitten by a pantomime horse in one of his theatre productions… and for years afterwards people they would ask him about it… a total fiction on my part. Another total fiction of mine concerning Nigel was when I was trying to inspire my class to write and I gave them a scenario which was very complicated and involved the fact that Nigel had a twin brother who had replaced him… and again, some of the students really believed me, even though I tried to assure them that it was just a story I had made up…

The school was broken into once; the police arrived and surveyed the confusion in Nigel’s office, and when they asked him what had been stolen, Nigel had to confess that in fact the thieves hadn’t been in his office… the mess was all his own.

There are many, many tales I could tell… and I’m sure everyone who knew Nigel will have many stories… When I say he was an inspiration, he truly was and there are many people whose lives were changed for the better by his advice, his teaching, his straight-talking and his humour.

We didn’t see him very often, but the last time we did we met him for a meal… which was marvellous, excellent food, excellent wine, excellent company, and we laughed, and laughed and laughed…

Best man at our wedding and godfather to our son, he looked so dashing in his white tuxedo!