When Jill, Angie and I came into the church we were not just surprised. No – we were gobsmacked !! Every pew was full and extra chairs had to be brought in – it was packed. Why ? Who were all these people and what do they have in common ? It was obvious - the answer was Derek. They had come from near and far – family, friends, colleagues – all to show how widely Derek has impacted on the lives of so many people. They wanted to show the love, affection and esteem they held for this lovely, gentle man. It just showed how important he had been to their lives – not that Derek himself would put any score on self-importance. In our own memories we as a family particularly remember holidays – Spain, Center Parcs, even an arranged meet-up in Australia when our respective eldest ones were travelling; parties and games at Christmas – all with Derek playing a quiet part ensuring all went well - except, as Gail has reminded us, when the game was Spoons ! On holiday in Tuscany Jill and I recall that whilst we would be considering getting up in the morning Derek would emerge already having been to the shops for bread, milk and other provisions – typically, a go-to guy who would, with no fuss, just get on and do it. With friends we have enjoyed many holidays together – several visits to France, Edinburgh and others ; many long weekends away, and outings too numerous to mention to events both cultural and trivial often involving music – one of life’s joys that Derek shared with us. These outings have been tremendous fun and they will continue but it will be a long time before we finally accept that Derek won’t be joining us. Classic paintings of heaven show angels playing celestial music on harps and lyres – they’ve now got a bass player to give them a bit of rhythm. Thank you Derek for thirty years of great friendship, fun and laughter. Jill & Bob, Maddy & Mark, Angie & Jon and Ruth & Kathryn