I can’t talk about Tom in isolation as I knew him best as part of a strong caring fun loving family who excel at being hospitable and kind to the waifs and strays that floated, all to willingly to their door. He will always be there when ever they are. I knew Tom from when he was about 5 or 6 and had the privilege of sharing many happy times with him and the family. I saw most of him around Christmases, parties or Towersey. Tom was a bright fun loving child who could seem easily bored but as with so many of us despite his love of company he also enjoyed quiet times, sitting in the tent at Towersey or at the back of a performance in a folk club with a book. The Tom I knew, for there were many different Tom’s was always polite and found time to come and welcome me to their home or to say hello in the Red Lion at Christmas. It didn’t matter if you were there every day or once in a blue moon, he always made the point of saying hello. Tom was the youngest of a family who are funny, energetic and all strong characters. Great at games, enthusiastic, competitive and kind, win or lose. It’s in this way that I will remember him best. He was loved as a good friend by many and held together a number of very long term friendships. These were never one sided, his friends loved him for who he was. Over the years the childhood friends became adults and all of a sudden there was Tom in a suit at my Grandsons naming ceremony doing all the adult things, respected and cared for by the friends he had shared his life with. I saw him happy, sad, confused and a hundred other things over the years, but always he was Tom. The lad with the chemistry set intent on seeing what happened when you mixed things up. That was how life was and often is. It’s that recipe that one day makes the perfect loaf but the next time round produces a soggy sponge, it’s just how it is. If life is often reflected in songs I think his would be a ballade sung on a summers evening by the camp fire as day moves to evening. In life he did it his way. Not right or wrong but uniquely his. He will not be forgotten and I am sure that over the years we will all catch glimpses of how he touched our lives whenever we are together. Alan Weston 5-4-13