I first met John when Ruth and I moved into Stacey Road, (the Square as John called it) in 1984. I was interested in maintenance and DIY jobs, but had limited experience and skills and John helped me a lot. He encouraged me to actually tackle some quite sizeable jobs myself rather than pay someone else to do them. He would then spend time helping me with the design and practical work to get the job done. One example was the building from scratch of a replacement wooden shutter for the front of the house. During this job I learned such a lot from John and at the end of it we were both proud of what we had achieved. He admitted that he probably put more thought and effort into some jobs than was actually necessary, but he said "When I do something I want it to last". He was also a very friendly sociable man and would often come over for a chat when I was working in the garden, and this would sometimes end up with us both disappearing into his garage to discuss some project he was planning. He and Margaret were fond of our cats, one of them became a regular visitor to their house and sometimes we would get a phone call asking us if we would like to come and collect our cat who looked like he had taken up residence for the night. On one occasion John told us that the cat had been scratching to be let in through their back patio door, and when John duly obliged the cat simply walked through the house and scratched to be let out of the front door, it had just wanted a short cut through their house to get back home. He loved his food too, and Margaret used to plan and prepare big meals for guests, and they particularly enjoyed their holidays with friends, at hotels or on ships, when they would recount in great detail all the food they had been served. We shall miss him.