Having been very much part of your life from your birth, I really know what a very special person you were. Not that our relationship started very auspiciously, for having recently become a stroppy teenager I honestly couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. To me, like all babies, you simply weren’t 
beautiful, even though as the picture attached shows , you were a happy little chap





Our relationship did become a little stronger when in November 1962 you came to live in Ashford Lodge and I became Ceri and your babysitter. Although even then I don’t think I really appreciated you, being personally very engrossed in my budding love relationship, while you too seemed very much in your own world.Attached is a photo of us 3 with your 2 younger cousins.





It wasn’t until I went to the States, to look after 2 young children, that I realised what a kind little boy you were. During the whole time we were together, not once had I heard you say a mean word or behave in a cruel or spiteful way, even though you were the eldest. However it wasn’t till you were 20 and you came to stay that I got to know you properly. Your 1st holiday with us was in London and as you were an avid Thatcher fan, I got us seats in the visitors gallery, in the houses of parliament. Our timing was very lucky, as the Falkland crisis had just started, so the house was pact and the debate very noisy. What surprised me most, was not that David attention was held through out the session, but that he seemed to know all the speakers and what positions they held.Personally I’m not very interested in politics, so often I had to ask” whose that” and David would reply” that’s the chancellor” or” the foreign secretary”, adding their names in each case.
Till then I hadn’t realised his passion and knowledge base was so extensive. I knew when he walked up to visit my parents each day, he always listened attentively while my father’s held forth about what misguided things the labour MPs had said that day and how well the Tories had responded. Then together they would look at the political carton in the paper and both laugh loudly sharing the joke. You couldn’t mistake the strong bond they had, seeing them like that, but prior to his visit I’d always felt this interest was rather 1 sided, with David being just polite listening to his grandfather’s tirade.
David’s next stay with us was to Berlin and as he had heard so much from my Dad about the dreadful Russian regime in East Germany, I booked us on the military train that went through there. It was on this trip that I learnt how unruffled David could be in situations that put others into a panic stricken spin. What occurred was that when we reached Braunschweige our destination, Madeleine and Pete got off 1st, then helped my toddler off. After which the pram came off, followed by me and the baby. Finally David was to get out, but before he could, the train started to reverse out of the station, despite our screams and hand waving. Terrified we managed to find a guard who told us the train was only going to a siding to wait until we returned to Berlin. Of course the driver was contacted and returned the train to the platform. On arrival we all expected a very stressed David to get off but that wasn’t the case, David was as calm as a cucumber and merely commented that he knew we would resolve this unfortunate occurrence . This trust and belief in those he likes, also means he believes they will be fair. Hence after having a day out seeing places often featured in his favourite spy film and meeting Russian solider who check your identity papers; he willing went on a boat trip, which really isn’t his scene, as you can see in the photo below. 





This co-operative spirit continued when we took ferries to the islands off Naples, although we did try to go by hydrofoil where possible, as David much preferred this hi-tech form of transport . On the occasions when we did have to take ferries, just as he did at beaches, David rarely sat outside, mainly as he was very aware of the damaging influence of UV rays. Even when he was wearing long sleeve clothes as shown above,he went downstairs to the bars, that sold both orange juice and Kit Kats. His determination to communicate what he wanted and not to be daunted by the language barrier was a very strong trait in David. Here in the picture below, David is speaking to an old army friend of my parents, who only visited occasionally, yet still he is obviously trying to engage him in conversation





The older David got the more adept he became as gauging what topic interested you and when you were bored of the subject being talked about, so he would change it to another one. These ranged from politics/current affairs, to films,to both world wars, clean energy and even the weather. As he loved to watch documentaries as well as films on TV,his knowledge was quite extensive in all these areas. I can still remember vividly David looking out of the window, just before we were about to leave for Pompeii and informing me it was going to rain. Needless to say I challenged him, but he just pointed to the clouds, which he said were cumulus and thus full of rain. Here’s a photo of us before of course it rained and we all got completely drenched, having not brought any rain ware.



Next year on his annual visits he brought me a lovely barometer so that it wouldn’t happen again. Not that I could just hang it on the wall, 1st it had to be calibrated. So after David’s adamant insistence, only a meteorological office could do this, we all drove up to the one on Vesuvius, to have it done. Having gone that far I suggested that we actually visit the volcano.David however was not impressed, similarly ancient ruins weren’t his things, unless there were kittens as at Tiberius’s villa. This picture below indicates how fond he was of young creatures, showing how he’s really caring of these puppies.





As mentioned earlier David was really into hi-tec stuff; so felt monies spent on not only nuclear power stations but also things such as Trident was wise. Like my father, he believed it was a deterrent against the Soviet Union. As he had shown such interest in submarines, when they started to offer tours around Capri in one (not nuclear of course) we took him. To David’s delight on arrival we saw the sub was painted yellow. So through out the trip, David entertained us all, by singing the Beetles song. He knew very verse, which shouldn’t have surprised me, as you often cut short your daily visits in order to watch the Sounds of the Sixties. Besides popular music however he also liked some classical, his favourite being from Swan Lake. So when he came over again, we all went to the San Carlo to watch the ballet. He just sat mesmerized in the front of our box, till we all went down for orange juice in the break. Here’s a picture of us waiting for the mini bus that took us to the theatre.





David was also a humanitarian. He thought the death penalty was barbaric,and believed in supporting charities, in his case it was Shelter. However he seemed equally pleased when my Mum donated, monies she’d collected, to the enterprise centre. Below is a photo of the cheque being handed over.





Another thing that he firmly believed in, was that people should all be proactive in limiting climate control. For him the answer was nuclear power that produced clean energy. Many the time, when both he and Nick were at Ashford, did he seriously try to convince him, it was the only solution. As he pointed out, wind and sea barrages were harmful to birds and fish respectively. I don’t know if it was due to David’s persuasion, but when Mum got a convection heater, he was really pleased. Similarly when he saw I used fans in Italy, he was delighted. On questioning me he soon discover I’d bought them in a market, so afterwards, he was always happy to accompany me there. Then he would chat to the stall holder, saying what a good service he was providing, while speaking in Italian the salesman just tried to off load his stuff. It was comical as neither understood a word the other said.
Although David was not very fond of large gatherings, he always attended family weddings and celebrations. He was simply aware they meant a lot to the participants, so he wanted to be there for them. When he was there he always joined in fully, usually finding someone to talk to, thus making the time pass faster before he could leave. Very often that person was me as we had a mutual interest in films. With Nick and Richard both enjoying the cinema, it meant usually I had seen the film David wanted to talk about. On the rare occasion I thought I hadn’t seen the film in question, he would describe a different scene. If I still didn’t recall it, David would inform me when, which often was with the boys, not only in Italy but Germany too. Usually he was right; what a memory, as he could quote a scene verbatim. Anyway here here is a photo of us at Nikki’s 1st wedding.




Although David always joined these celebration, when it came to photo shoots there was a limit to the time he would remain. However if you asked him to relate one of his anecdotes about somebody behaving inappropriately, he usually stayed around. He really told the story with glee, ending it with guffaws of laughter. None of this was done with an ounce of malice or spite, it just seemed to delight him to tell these tales, where people, very often ones he cared for, had said something crass or stupid. The following picture shows David following such an incident.





Below in the picture of Ceri’s wedding you can see David as the caring uncle that he always was.





Despite joining in fully in all these family celebrations, there was always a point when you would exit gracefully. If prevented, you would show your feelings in your own unique way, as these photos show.







Thanks for being a big part of my life, you were a very special person.