Today a good man died

Dear Andrew,

You were, without a doubt, a complete Original and an utter rogue:
-You spent too long in a submarine and probably came back to dry land just a teensy bit special.
-You turned 'having a blonde moment'into an art form.
-You collected roadkill and laid it out neatly on your roof, so that when the carcasses were reduced to skin and bones you could give your biologist girlfriend a romantic birthday present that you really knew she wanted.
-You got me to help you clean the leftover roadkill out of your freezer when your aforesaid biologist girlfriend broke up with you on the day of her birthday.
-You draped your running shorts and sneakers in the air conditioning unit at the office. It took us weeks to figure out where the smell was coming from.
-You made yourself a place in the legal history of the United Arab Emirates by setting a precedent for what is now known as the Mr Bean defence.

-When your house had no food, you practically ran the three blocks between our houses to transfer the contents of my fridge and pantry into your stomach, ignoring the 14 takeaway restaurants you passed in the process.
-When we planned to throw a ludicrously over the top Blakes 7 themed party ("Alfoil! Nobody is allowed through the front door unless they're wearing at least a metre of aluminium foil!") we failed to realise that nobody else remembered what Blakes 7 was.
-When you broke up with your girlfriend-of-the-moment, you would always come over and watch Xanadu & I would cheer you up by reminding you of how many leggy blondes there are in the world.
-When we belted out "Blame it on the Boogie" we knew that the world had seen nothing quite like it, and never would again (& the world heaves a sigh of relief).

-When I was sick, we went to the pub. We drank, you listened and I ranted.
-When you were sick, we went to the pub. We drank, I listened and you ranted.


In the years to come, your daughter is going to hear some outlandish stories about you. Even if she only believes one-tenth of the stories she's told, she is going to know that she had a one-of-a kind father.

And if she grows up with even one-tenth of the charm, heart, cheek, sense of adventure and sheer bloodymindedness that you have, she will do you proud, my friend.