What do I think of when I think of Jon? Well, he's my brother-in-law. so I've known him a long time. I remember when he had long hair and was first dating my sister! I remember when he was selling bottles of fizzy drink from a truck to houses and later pitching marquees for Piggots. He was at Loughton College then, and a bit cocky! I always knew when he brought my sister back home late. I could hear the distinctive chunter of the VW beetle he drove. I remember the day he married my sister. How smart he looked. He actually managed to keep his shirt tucked in most of the day! He looked so happy, and so did Sandra. I remember his measure of how proud he was of his first born, Joshua, his son, when he said he thought he was "well hung"! When my kids and his were a bit older and he had a daughter, Lauren, as well by then, both families used to go and stay at the cottage in Devon, in Kingsteignton. We'd have fresh mackerel for breakfast that he had caught off Hope's Nose on the coast, we flew kites on the beach, sailed paper boats on the stream down the road with all four kids running along and cheering their own boat along. A competition at every available opportunity! All of which he wanted to win! Watching Josh Go Kart race at Rye House, and getting so excited!! Watching Lauren ballet dance and in school productions, with him. He was always so proud of his children. All the other stuff of our families growing up together. The shared Christmas celebrations and all the Easter Egg Hunts. He tried so hard to put the eggs in wierd places! I think of his workshop where he was always making gliders. The mess it was in! I think of all the times he left glue all over the kitchen top, tools in inappropriate places. That's how he was, always busy doing something and leaving a trail of detritus behind him! He liked to cook, but was good at leaving the clearing up to others, a skill I haven't managed to master yet! Oddly, we didn't really seem to mind. How did he do that?! I think of him as a "big" character. Teasing and fun. Clever too though and we had some good indepth conversations. Not particularly outwardly sentimental. Bit of a hard nut on the outside but soft in the middle! He has always been central to his own family, and in the bigger extended family too. You always knew when he had arrived! And he always moaned about how long it took to get out of the door to go home as well!! Sister's like to chatter! So there'll be this big space now. The one he always filled, in the room, in the house, wherever he was, and in my heart. The space will always be there, and it will always be his. I can fill it with all these memories, keep it alive. But it will never feel the same. Thanks for being a fab Uncle to my kids Jon, for being a great brother-in-law too. For making my sister so happy. You better not be late at the pearly gates when it's my turn to be there. I'll expect a good reception! Anita. xx