Mark “When I was asked to say a few words about Dan, I wondered how on earth I was going to be able to encapsulate 22 years of friendship in such a short amount of time. I realised that there would never be enough words to express my feelings for my friend. Like everyone here, I have tales to tell, good stories, up’s and down’s and everything in between which involve Dan. Moments in all our lives that he has touched. Many times it is said of people that they are kind, thoughtful of others, and generous to a fault, but with Dan, these words really were true. I can speak from personal experience the times he would go out of his way to help, be there in times of need, be there to offer advice or give you his last penny if he could. He was a gentleman and a gentle man. I remember the first time I met Dan. My first day at school. I was sitting at the back of the classroom feeling very shy and nervous, when the teacher started taking the class register. Finally she asked that if anyone had any nicknames they would like to be called, now is the time to say it. Suddenly, towards the front of the class this young, redheaded guy, with even bigger ears than me, said “Miss, you can call me Spanners.” On hearing this, the entire class looked around at him - either amused, confused or shocked. I immediately thought, ‘well that took guts, here is somebody I want to get to know’. And so it began, 22 years of friendship. Getting into mischief, sharing the growing pains and trials that life throws at you. One thing that became obvious, very quickly on getting to know Dan, was the love he had for his mother Sandra, who raised him single handed on the Roehampton estate. Whom it has to be said, was the single biggest influence on his life. A dedicated, hard working, passionate, strong woman. I know how much it meant to Dan to have the chance to work at Queen Mary’s Hospital IT department with his mother. May I just say at this point how incredibly strong Sandra has been since the first day we found out about Dan’s illness, right up until his final day at the Princess Alice Hospice in Esher. Sandra, you are an inspiration to us all. Dan liked to look good. His love of fashion and style never failed to amuse me. Being reminded by him, on a constant basis that his Armani flip flip’s cost more than my entire wardrobe. Which was true. He loved snooker and nights out with the boys. In fact I think there is one thing that Del wont miss, which is having Dan take money off him every Wednesday playing snooker at the Rhodrons Club each time Dan beat him at a game. Which as I understand, was frequent. Although according to Chris Kavana, Darren and Micky, Del would always deny being beaten! Chris Collins found a way of beating Dan at snooker, which was to sing Robert Downey Jnr’s version of the song ‘River’ just before Dan was going for his final shot on the black, causing Dan to fluff the shot. There were those special moments that I managed to share with him. Such as the time he met up with Clivey, Bobby Beck and myself and he was going on and on about this lovely little blonde woman he had met at Queen Mary’s. You could just tell that this woman was special, right from the beginning, and sure enough, a year later he married that lovely little blonde woman from Queen Mary’s. Sue, you and Dan made such a wonderful couple and your wedding day will always be looked upon as some of the fondest memories I have of Dan. Even though I knew Dan for many years, there were still things that I could never quite understand about him. Such as, why, oh why, did he love all those soppy, Sandra Bullock movies?? Why he would put chilli sauce on everything, including cornflakes, what was so special about those chocolate brownies from Starbucks which my brother Stevie used to buy him and why would he sometimes ask “Is my hair ok?” even before saying “hello”!? But I guess it is all those things that made him so unique. My life will shine less bright now that Dan has left it. I have lost my best friend, yet, I am so grateful to have known him. It would have been an honour to have known him for just five minutes, but for 22 years I am truly blessed. If I may borrow some words from the poet Henry Van Dyke who wrote: Time is too slow for those who wait, Too swift for those who fear, Too long for those who grieve, Too short for those who rejoice, But for those who love, Time is eternity, I know Dan was not a religious man, but wherever he is, I hope he is sitting with Elvis, drinking a cold pint of Guinness and waiting for all of us, when it is our turn, to see him again. Ben “Dan was my cousin. He was my friend and even once upon a time, my colleague. I have obviously got hundreds of special memories of times spent with Dan, from early childhood, right through to our adult years. Our times as children included all the normal games from hide n seek to murder in the dark, we climbed trees in my parents back garden, we went crab fishing and played on the beach when staying with our grandparents in Bournemouth, we played on computers (at which Dan obviously won everything). But perhaps my fondest memories would be the Christmases that we spent to together. Dan always knew what he was getting for Christmas; he always seemed to know what I was getting; and he always knew where the presents were hidden! We have always enjoyed these family occasions and Dan was always very much at the centre of everything. He always enjoyed the slightly competitive nature of the games we played on these occasions, other than when paired with our nan when playing Pictionary; and always enjoyed the banter, especially I suspect regarding the family rivalry over our chosen football teams. Of course these are the details, what I really remember most is how enthusiastic, excitable and joyful he was. It always felt like an occasion when we were together. Of course as we got older, others joined Dan’s and our family and served to enrich Dan’s life further. When Sandra married Dell (aka: Mr Trotter), Dan and Dell became firm friends and were very close. Soon after, Dan met and married Sue, who he has been married to for the last eleven years. In fact I was entrusted to look after Dan the night before his wedding to Sue; the least said about that though, the better! This happy union also introduced Dan to all of Sue’s family and friends, of whom Dan loved and was incredibly fond. I must also add that sue will always remain very much a part of our family. Dan discovered more fulfilment when he found his sisters, brother and their families. He immediately took them all to his heart, as they took him to theirs. I know how important this was to him and I think in some ways, completed him. For everyone who knew Dan, I am sure that he was someone very special; he had so many attributes and qualities that it would have been impossible not to have been touched by at least one. Dan was kind, generous, fun loving, funny, loyal, genuine, intelligent and loving. He was also a great people person, he really His life although short is one that has touched so many and left us all with a deep feeling of loss but also a perhaps greater feeling of privilege for having known him.” Kate “Hello, I’m Kate. I am honoured to stand before you today having been given this opportunity to talk about my oldest and dear friend. I’m privileged to have known Dan practically since birth, as we grew up together as children and I would like to share some of my dearest memories with you of Dan as a child and some of the tricks and adventures we got up to. Both our mums worked at The Limb Fitting Centre and we’d often find ourselves waiting in reception with a TV, two rocking horses and lots of wheel chairs. Yep it was the wheel chairs we’d go for, perfecting a game where we’d ensure a clear outside track of the main reception area, line up our chosen wheel chair at exact opposite sides of the reception, sit in them and upon one of us shouting ‘go’, we’d race our hearts out trying to catch up the other! Endless hours of fun and not too many injuries. Looking back we seemed to spend a lot of time inventing games that were competitive and involved a chase! When we were much younger, one of my earliest memories is of ‘The Sofa Game’. As the name suggests the sofa is the goal and first to successfully sit, lie or if exhaustion set in, just to scrabble a leg on, was the winner. However, practically any tactic was acceptable to prevent the other from reaching this goal. Dan and I would often spend our holidays together. One holiday to the South of France camping, we went on a boat trip, the consequences of which have lived with me ever since. A beautiful day out at sea and the captain of the boat allowed people to go for a swim should they wish to do so. What a lovely idea, until Dan starts talking Jaws! Well by the time he’s finished that was it, I now have a permanent fear of the sea, paddling is my max. But Dan didn’t just talk about sharks and the sea; I shall share with you a little gem of wisdom he told me… sharks actually live behind the walls of swimming pools! Memories Dan and I would always reminisce about were on our Youth Hostelling holidays. These holidays involved the four of us sharing a family room (luxury apposed to a dorm!), and lots and I mean lots, of walking (we even looked down on a plane once we’d walked so high)! We’d enjoy the usual finding the best walking stick and Mum and Dan would challenge each other to hurdle any gate we came across, but what we loved to remember was our singing. We would literally spend the whole day walking across fields, up hills and mountains, round lakes, singing the whole way. Sorry Dan for sharing this, for the songs we sang weren’t the latest chart song, but were from the sound of music, mainly Edelweiss and My favourite things. I am truly blessed to have known Dan all my life (we’ve even had baths together – sorry Sue and Mark, but we were tiny tots) and I am lucky to have heaps of memories; the scary plane ride terrifying Katy and not doing great things for you Dan, Shopping trips with Katy, where Dan would put us to shame with his shopping and we bored him discussing weddings, Isle of Wight holiday, Fishing in Scotland – where Sandra put us all to shame with her first attempt ever at fishing and never failing to catch one! Listening from a bedroom at our mums boiling crabs and then expecting us to actually eat them! As you all do, I have tonnes of treasured memories of my Dan and have shared just a few. When writing this, looking back at our times together, I truly couldn’t remember us ever falling out or cross words. That is testament to who he was, so kind, caring and full of fun, who has taught me the ultimate lesson in strength; my brother, my Dan, your brother, your Dan, your son, your husband, your Daniel, your Danny, your Spanners. Man of Steel – I miss you.” Thank you all… Sandra My son was a joy to call my own. I was always very proud of the man he was and I always knew that he was special, but every mother believes that of her child. But this past week, I have had such wonderful tributes made to him, verbally, in the form of cards and letters and also electronic tributes on line- so fitting for Dan. I have been in tears one minute reading them and fits of laughter the next, with some of his friends and colleagues remembering pranks they got up to - particularly the old IT crowd at Queen Mary's Hospital. I had the great pleasure of working alongside Dan in the IT department at Wandsworth. Without his influence and input in teaching me everything I needed to do the job I did, I would not have had the opportunity to do so. His patience and enthusiasm were immense. One thing is for sure, he will be sorely missed by many people. The void he leaves in my heart can never be filled and nor would I want it to be. Goodbye my darling . You will live forever in my memories.