Ian was a good friend for over 60 years. We met queueing overnight at the Royal Festival Hall for tickets for a rare performance by Heifitz, introduced by Geoff Ashworth (a concert that Heifitz cancelled, so we queued in vain!). We shared a love of music and in those years in London we spent summers at the Proms and winters at the Festival Hall. I was learning to cook and enjoyed trying out new recipes on the 'gang' (Ian, Lawson, Geoff, and later Roger and Jacqui). I remember one Christmas cooking a boar's head. At the end of the evening Ian and friends, in their cups, carried the remains of the head out and placed it on the bonnet of a parked car facing the driver's seat! When we started travelling, Ian to Germany and me to USA, we kept in touch, meeting up when we were both in London. When Ian and Jarmila were enjoying their marathon tour of South America in their VW, I was surprised to receive a post card from Jarmila saying 'How do I have a baby in USA?' Luckily I had good friends in San Francisco, where they were headed, who offered them accommodation in a cottage at the bottom of the garden and introduced them to an obstetrician. They spent a few months with Lola and Steve after Adrian was born, and then proceeded to drive across North America, ending up in New York for 3 months with me. That was a fun time. I would come back from work to find a delicious dinner cooking and a favourite piece of music playing on the gramophone - oh, and a bottle of wine breathing... I really missed them when they returned to UK! Later on, when Ian and Roz were in Nottingham, close to where my parents lived, we met up more frequently. After Roz so sadly died, I would meet up with Ian and his friend Geoff for a pub lunch to reminisce over old times. Ian was always fun, with a good store of jokes and stories, and a good friend. I will miss him, but he will live on in all the memories of good times shared.
wrote
Report
Comments