Rachael Robbins organised a bench as a memorial to her friend and neighbour and on Sunday, November 7 it was put in place in the allotments and is a perfect place to sit and remember him. Rachael gave a moving eulogy and here is part of it.
“John was a unique man who walked among us with a unique way of doing things. He was independent and determined and he had his own ideas of how he wanted to live. Such a noted and true character of Rye Harbour. John was born in 1933 and died in August this year.
John loved his food and my relationship began on Christmas Day 20 years ago when I found myself crawling through a hedge with his Christmas meal. He decided to come home with me and enjoy it with the family. After that it became a weekly ritual. We’d have cooked breakfast of egg and tomatoes on Friday in the arcade, a pasty picnic on the 326, pie and mash in the Conqueror and fish and chips on a Tuesday. Mulligatawny soup was his favourite and there was nothing in the world so serious that a choc-ice or a cream cake wouldn’t fix.
This community supported John and his choices long before I arrived. It was understanding of his oddities; his eccentricities and his extraordinariness were accepted and embraced.
I don’t know why the universe decided to pair John and me, but pair us it did. John was far from easy but he was always John. He was a constant and became an anchor during my own turbulent times. When John left this life I was there holding his hand and it was as loving and gentle as I ever hoped for him.”
So the bench is in pride of place in the allotment for all to find some comfort there.
Image Credits: Kt Bruce .