We heard sad news today. You are no longer with us.

You were a challenging man, often pushing others with political and frictional debate to the edge of their comfort zones. You taught me to assert myself, even if it creates some conflict, to stand up for my own beliefs and opinions and to refuse to be bullied or silenced.

I am so grateful for your recent visit and that my children met you. This is no one else like you in our lives and we’re a colourful character down.

Would I have chosen the same profession were it not for you? Probably, but it was an unspoken bond between us and I’ll never forget my “apprenticeship” at your practice. I like to think you were secretly proud.

You taught me how to make perfect rice.

You left a lot of beauty behind, in your art and I will treasure your gifts. I owe you, in part, for my love of craftsmanship, in particular wood, and I remember as a child marvelling as you turned wood in your hut, pulling sculptures from its warm tactile texture, or solering silver in your workshop beneath the stairs, thinking how easy you made it look and how each ring was different.

I’m sad you are gone and will always think fondly of you with a wry smile. You could never be forgotten by anyone that met you and the world is a duller, and more PC, place without you.

Take care wherever you are,

With much love,

Your Neice,

J x