Howard died yesterday, May 2nd 2017.
It was sad news. We weren’t in touch regularly – we’d both moved on years ago, but at Christmas there was always a beautiful card from him. Last Christmas our card was a reproduction of one of his paintings, ‘Forest at Sundown’, with browns and gold and wispy autumnal shapes…
We met in a folk club. He loved folk music and played a cool guitar but always thought others were better at it. He loved the theatre and ran a Drama Club when he was a teacher. Chris would scoot about the school hall in his wheelie baby walker while serious things like ‘Son of Man’ were being rehearsed…and Dom would be watching it all.
Howie was a potter by trade. In the garden I still have the dinosaur and the hedgehog the children made with him. He was my closest friend through one of the darkest times in my life when I was trying to live a life separated from my children. I think it would be fair to say he saved my life. Thank you Howie, for all you did.
He was the father of ‘Our Kid’ – you can see him in one of my earlier pieces – and it was Christian who phoned me yesterday with the sad news.
I shall always remember How’s courage and optimism and how he loved and cared for Dom when he was restored to me. He was a loving and caring stepfather to all my children and a beloved father to Chris.
Rest in Peace my dear friend.
