Tuesday, September 30, 2008

I remember Tony Leitch, partly because I bumped into him and his wife Stephanie in Kingston four Saturdays ago - the first time we'd met for perhaps 20 years - and partly because he died of a massive heart attack a week or so later. Consequently, only finding out about this last Thursday when my Mum phoned me to tell me there was an article about him in the Surrey Comet and that the funeral was the same day at 2pm, I managed to get there and celebrate his life along with a packed Putney Crematorium. I do like humanist 'services'. I think I'll have one myself. Not so sure about the canework coffin though. I saw Tony as something of a style guru - before such things existed. I wrote about him here. He crossed my mind every time I opened the cutlery drawer of the caravan. Or even the door of the caravan.

I remember my Egmond guitars - a lead and a bass, both electric. One of them still had the sticker on it from Bell Music when it went into the skip yesterday. They had spent too much time in the loft and I couldn't face trying to restore them - nor selling them (or not!) on eBay. So I took photographs and said goodbye. Anyway, I've always felt much more comfortable with acoustic. But I still can't quite believe I did what I did.

I remember my harmonium, which was demolished on my behalf and which I could see in pieces in said skip. Can't believe I gave my permission - but I did. Managed to retrieve a panel which I shall use as loft flooring. I think we brought that all the way from Godalming on a roof rack on one of my Dad's cars. One note was always flat.

I remember Mrs Hawkey - who put me up for the night - made me ham and eggs on the morning of my wedding. I don't think I'd ever had it before - and I don't think I've had it since.