Kates Tribute
My Uncle Chris was born and grew up in Surrey, in a small village at the foot of the North Downs, he had the benefit of hills to climb, great views, being surrounded by fields, trees and wildlife - this seemed to spark a lifelong love of the countryside and nature, birds and animals.
His parents, Bill and Emily, worked for many years as gardener and cook/housekeeper in large estate halls and a private school, living in gardeners cottage and then the lodge, so Chris had lots of space and freedom to hang out with the local lads and probably get up to all sorts of mischief. Chris’ elder brothers, Bill and John, were ten years older than him, so he probably spent a good deal of time at home entertaining himself, tinkling on the piano and apparently showed an interest in music from a very young age.
He won a music scholarship at the tender age of 7 and attended Trinity School of Music in London. He continued to expand his knowledge whilst at secondary school where his talent really emerged - but he was also keen on sport and became a swimming instructor at the local pool and he was very proud to achieve a black belt in judo.
In his early 20s his music career really began to take off. I am told by his great friend Kevin, whom he has known for 50 years, that he was a keyboard player in a band called Unicorn and in the 70s they both spent many years in America. Unicorn was David Gilmour’s pet project (those of you who might not know, Gilmour was part of Pink Floyd). Chris was a very modest man, other famous friend included Joe Brown, Peter Davidson and his wife Sandra Dickinson, Eric Clapton and his wife and Paul Simon. When they returned to the UK both he and Kevin were in a pop band named Ginger and they had a single “Blind Date” which they performed live on Saturday morning TV - I was so proud and for once I was the coolest kid in school!
As a child our Christmases were a lot more fun if Chris was going to be there. His mum would put on a good spread (and we know he enjoyed those) and his dad would perform magic tricks. His brothers, their wives Beryl and Shirley, and his other niece Sue and nephew Stephen, would gather together and all having a similar sense of humor, there would be a good deal of laughter. Chris was proud to maintain links with his east end roots, family values were important to him and he never lost touch with his cousins there - having spent great times together as children.
Sometime in the late 80s Chris decided to start fresh on a new project… He bought a farm house in the midlands complete with some land and some outbuildings and set up a mushroom farm. At some point he met a young lady and fell in love, unfortunately, neither of those aspects of his life quite went the way he’d planned. Chris being Chris, was not to be beaten and once he’d picked himself up again, he began delving into the art world and over time he became very knowledgeable on the subject, always on the lookout for work but recognised artists he was fond of rummaging in antique shops and flea markets. He made many connections and bought and sold artworks in all the famous auction houses. This also lead to him becoming a picture framer - he set up his own gallery framing and selling artwork. He taught the ropes to my dad, John, and the two brothers worked together for a while before Chris handed over the reigns of the business and moved onto pastures new.
In the 1990s as a mature student, Chris went to college and completed Science and IT courses which lead on to him becoming a music teacher. When he decide to join our family in Norfolk, he lived with us for a while then in quite a few houses around Norwich before settling back in the countryside in the annex where he lived for the last 9 years. I think he enjoyed being surrounded by trees, ponies and wildlife again. More recently he became a peripatetic teacher in local primary schools continuing to work five and a half days a week until retiring about 18 months ago. Then teaching adults and children piano and keyboard in their own homes. Over the last few year he worked tirelessly to produce a series of online music tutorials. I think that in many ways Chris was fortunate - he never had to do a job he didn’t enjoy, waste hours sitting in traffic jams and was determined to keep as much from the tax man as possible.
It is a little known fact that he could also play clarinet and saxophone. I feel grateful that he was living nearby, enabling him to be a large part of my children, Hannah and Ollie’s lives as they grew up. In school holidays Chris would sometimes travel to visit his great niece Callie and great nephews Jordan, Dan and Toby back in Surrey. Each Christmas, sister in law Sue and Mike invited him to spend the day with us and cousin Lisa, Ed, James and Charlie which he very much enjoyed. In his spare time he liked to sail on the broads in his dinghy, cycle or go to the gym - keeping fit was extremely important to him.
A favourite hobby was to travel whenever he had the opportunity he experienced many countries and cultures including the greek islands of Corfu and Thassos, Spain and Majorca, Croatia and Slovenia where his great friend Kevin and his son Francis now live. He had been learning to speak Italian for a while - his long term goal being to retire to his favourite Italian village and enjoy life in the sun. He loved exploring and having many adventures and being a keen photographer always had many pictures to share. So Chris had a very wide spectrum of talents and interests and in each area of his life he gained many friends. Within hours people would welcome him, invite him into their homes, their families and ultimately into their hearts. He may have been unconventional but his open warm personality meant that he was easy to talk to, supportive, kind and patient. Although perfectly capable of looking after himself he would willingly accept hospitality in exchange for anecdotes (often lengthy!) and for all we know, probably manages to eat at a different friends table every night.Chris alway had time for people and if I learn anything from this devastating day is to take a leaf out of his book; even though lives are often hectic time should be spent wisely, generously and without regret. Like many of us he was forever striving to be successful in life - well by looking around I can honestly say, you made it Chris… Maybe not in financial terms but in all those that matter - he was surrounded by all the friendship he could wish for and for that I thank you. We are left with a huge void in our lives, one which over time will be filled with memories. I would like to finish by saying that Chris was take far too soon but he would want us to celebrate his life, his qualities, his talent and all his achievements. I think you’ll agree that the legacy of his music and his inspiration lives on.
Ollie
14th March 2019