“Canal du Midi: Just imagine the picture: John, Ingrid, a little Emma and a teenage me holidaying on a canal boat. Glorious sunny days. Ingrid, Emma and I sunning ourselves on deck, lazily watching canal sides lined by vineyards passing by, the vines drooping with the weight of sun-kissed grapes that occasionally begged to be eaten by Emma and I, the odd ‘Bonjour’ as another boat gently 
passed us in the other direction, peace and blissful quiet...when suddenly, loudly, furiously, “****!, ****!, ****!, this ****ing, ****ing boat!” As we hauled our panicked selves below deck to see what the crisis was, we saw a slender John, lying on his side, naked to the waist, his arm extended over the lip of some square hole in the bottom of the boat up to his armpit, the arm lost to view somewhere in the depths beneath the boat reaching ever deeper into the green water. The problem? The rudder was entangled with long, stringy weeds and John was frantically pulling them out. I remember collapsing in hysterics the first time this happened and it still makes me giggle to remember the rest of our trip punctuated by a regular and familiar “****!, ****!, ****!” To dear John – I wish you a very very very Happy Birthday and health and wisdom and many laughs. For all the wonderful, happy and eccentric memories I have of you, and the experiences that I’ve shared with you, Ingrid and Emma, thank you. I send you a plate of hugs, kisses and the best ever fried eggs, bacon, and fried bread you can imagine! With very much love,”
passed us in the other direction, peace and blissful quiet...when suddenly, loudly, furiously, “****!, ****!, ****!, this ****ing, ****ing boat!” As we hauled our panicked selves below deck to see what the crisis was, we saw a slender John, lying on his side, naked to the waist, his arm extended over the lip of some square hole in the bottom of the boat up to his armpit, the arm lost to view somewhere in the depths beneath the boat reaching ever deeper into the green water. The problem? The rudder was entangled with long, stringy weeds and John was frantically pulling them out. I remember collapsing in hysterics the first time this happened and it still makes me giggle to remember the rest of our trip punctuated by a regular and familiar “****!, ****!, ****!” To dear John – I wish you a very very very Happy Birthday and health and wisdom and many laughs. For all the wonderful, happy and eccentric memories I have of you, and the experiences that I’ve shared with you, Ingrid and Emma, thank you. I send you a plate of hugs, kisses and the best ever fried eggs, bacon, and fried bread you can imagine! With very much love,”- Lulu xxx
“John has brilliantly managed to cater for all ages - from childhood (the toys), through adolescence (fast cars) and to adulthood (good wine). I am a very grateful nephew. When John, Ingrid and Emma were living in Devon, John was due to visit us in Surrey. We were expecting John for dinner in the early evening but after a couple of hours were wondering where he might be. This was the pre-Mobilassic Age. It transpired that instead of turning east on to the M4 John hadn't quite noticed the sign pointing towards London and ended up in Birmingham, still on the M5. I haven't quite worked it out - was the sign not big enough or was there a lorry obscuring the view or was John auditioning for a seat on the Ferrari driving team. I am aware that John has always enjoyed my mother's cooking but...! If there was one word that I would use to describe John it would be generous. When a couple of friends and I enjoyed a year-off before university John very kindly enabled all three of us to travel back from New York on Virgin Atlantic. Given our available budget I am not sure how we otherwise would have financed our return to the UK. If John hadn't stepped forward I suspect we might still be there now. Thank you John. Have a great Birthday.”
- Andrew
“John has always had a very laid back attitude so that throughout whatever trials we have had to face he has always looked at the problem in a calm analytical manner. He has always had a magical sense of optimism and above all was always a great risk taker.”
- Ingrid
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