Man... New year?

Oh... Well... Okay.

You know, I was reading the paper today, and everything in it is a "look back at 2005" story.

Meh.

I mean, really... What happened this year? Wars, famine, bombings, shite... Government spying, government lying, governments starting, governments ending.

I don't know. Good things? Fi graduated... I got my MFA... My marriage, my friends' marriages... Friends passing away... Friends being left behind in Britain, and no new ones in the States, as of yet...

Moving back to my own country... Making the decision to STAY here, instead of running back to Britain, like I probably SHOULD do...

Starting immigration proceedings...

Looking for a job...

What's happening in 2006?

More wars, famines, bombings and shite... More government spying, lying and starting and ending.

Fi's not going to graduate again, I'm not getting another MFA... I'm married, and my friends are married... More marriages? More deaths? More friends being left behind, this time in Minnesota, as Fi and I move on to different parts of the U.S.? More immigration worries, still looking for a job...

Gah.

You know... Sometimes, one shouldn't write in his blog.

Happy fucking New Year.

-- T

Wow... Thanks everyone!

Fiona had the BEST party EVER last night...

I have that straight from the horse's mouth (although... Calling her a horse, is actually a misnomer) She had a great time!

Thanks to:
N8, Meshtey, Mel, Jean and especially Mick! (Who was only able to take a three hour nap yesterday after flying home from Hawaii.) For the sacrifices made in order to come and make it the best birthday ever for Fi.

Thanks also to folks for prezzies, drinks and fun times like having her stand up and get "happy birthday" sung to her from the band last night... Thanks Big Johnny Sjogren for the music and the fun times.

Thanks to Kieran's for a wonderful night, and good drinks and food... And service... Amy and Darren... Yay.

Okay...

Enough. My hangover is really starting to kick in, so I'm going to go lay down for a while.

Smiles everyone...

T

Happy Birthday to Fi, happy BIRTHday to Fiona...

Happy Birthday to Fi!



It's My Lady's Birthday today... And...

She's old enough, to drink....

AGAIN!

Stupid American Laws....

Anyhoo... Party at Kieran's...

Don't go forgettin'!

Smiles,
Tuckmac

Hmm...

Okay, so like... I've rarely done a "news" blog, and I'm sorry...

Again, trying to keep the gov. from spending a lot of time looking at the ex-ex-pat and his ex-pat wife.

Anyhoo... What I WILL do today, is call your attention to a few things, that aren't necessarily a real hum-dinger.

Okay:

• A letter writer in today's Star and Sickle writes a good letter that sums up my personal feelings toward Minneapolis' idea to study re-instituting Street Cars in Minneapolis. I say - Go for it! Yay!

• Here's a good opinion/editorial from the Star and Sickle. This is something that's been driving me insane for years... If you're gay. You can't form a legal attachment to your partner. This is shite. Okay... Example. "Gay Man" and his lover, together for 10 years. "Gay Man" gets into horrible accident. Is in hospital, attached to machines, brain-dead. "Gay Man's" partner, has discussed a DNR (do not resussitate) order with his partner. The partner tells the doc's this, and yet... The "Gay Man's" parents show up. They're fundamentalist Christians, and haven't spoken to "Gay Man" for over 10 years because of his life-style and sexual choices. They say... Keep him alive, it's a sin to un-plug. Now... If "Gay Man" were like a "straight couple" and was legally bound to his partner, then his partner would be able to say... "Gay Man" wanted to go. And that would be it. But because of the lack of legal rights for "committed" Gay couples, this can't happen. Just sort of pisses me off. Get off the "Gay Marriage" thing, and just make it a fucking "Civil Union" and let's move the hell on with our messed up society. 'K?

• Yeah, count me in on THIS opinion. Bring it back!

• Glad to see that they study weird things in Britain too. Just so you see my personal interest in this story... The university that is conducting the "study" is located inn Galashiels, the major town right by My Lady's Scottish home. Tee hee. In defence, sort of... It IS the biggest and best university for textiles and textile craft in Britain. But it's in the "Armpit" so... There you go.

Okay... That's it for today. Smiles readers,
T

Wow...

So, like...

My Lady and I have just finally joined our other "internet-savvy" friends in registering a domain name... And getting it hosted at a great place called: Dot Simple. So... Thanks to N8 for telling us about Dot Simple... And thanks to Fi, for making me finally get my ass in gear.

Now... There's nothing ON the web-space yet... So I'm not giving you a link... But as soon as I even have a "beta" up there, I'll let you all, my loyal readers, know where to go.

Until then... I'm drowning in fun techie-ness.

Oh... Also... Just got Broadband installed today... WOW! Is THIS fun!

Smiles,
T

Happy Boxing Day!

To my Yank readers...

Boxing Day's "official" celebration is based on the old British custom of the aristocracy (and upper-class) to give the servants a box filled with left-overs and small gifts for their service during the Christmas period. It's a mainly Victorian/Edwardian sort of holiday.

Boxing Day today, is a day where all Brits recover from the excesses of the Christmas day by either resting at home, or going to the pub to commiserate with friends about how messed up their families are. (Just kidding, sort of, well, not kidding that much, I suppose...)

I digress.

Although I wrote a fairly impassioned blog about the meaning of the Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hannukha/Yule what-have-you season... And I really believe, that it's necessary to embrace the season for what it's meant to be, rather than the mess that we in the West have called Christmas for the past 50 or so years... There's something to be said about a "recovery day" the day after Christmas for us to rest, relax, and be calm.

In Britain, I was a bartender. And on my FIRST Boxing Day in England in 2003, I worked at the pub on Boxing Day. I helped about 300 people get absolutely PISSED off their heads... (Drunk, for my Yank readers) and it was a mad day to work at a pub. And tiring. I was bushed. On my second Boxing Day in 2004, I wasn't working... But I was at the same place... The pub. This time on the "correct side of the bar" as I, and my customer's used to say. Both were a great way to spend Boxing Day.

I think by working the first one, it was a good indoctrination toward the holiday for a foreigner. I wouldn't have appreciated the holiday as much the first time... But by working it, and seeing how the Brits acted on Boxing Day, by the second one... I was prepared and acted much like the Brits would do. Not in recovery... No... My 2004 Christmas was the first spent with my THEN Fiancée, now wife, and we had a marvellous time; it wasn't a hard experience needing recovery. Boxing day was spent, with My Lady in the pub. I admit to becoming a little more than tipsy on that day... But the feeling of relaxation, and togetherness with the people that you truly interacted with EVERYday, was a wonderful way to end the holiday-season.

Fiona met the extended clan yesterday at my aunt's house in Forest Lake. Forest Lake is a small town north of the Twin Cities, about an hour away by American Roads. In Britain, it's about 3 hours away if you used the Brit roads... Anyhoo... My family seemed to be really taken with her. How could they not? Most of them have never left Minnesota, let alone been anywhere where people have different accents or languages. Fiona was very charming, and adorable, and lovely... And so she was an obvious "big hit" with the clan. However... I felt my neck muscles tense with every conversation. I know that's rather normal when dealing with the family that you only see twice to three times a year... But...

Coming home last night... And today, Boxing Day being spent in slow, gradual calmness has been wonderful for me. I'm still in my P-J's and it's 12:30 in the afternoon.

My Lady's making a speciality of hers... Roast duck, with apricots and port. (Here's to Rob, for the idea.) And I'm about to go upstairs to shower, and get ready for a nice relaxing afternoon. I have a few errands to run today, but no real hurry, and you know, I'm happy.

Cheers readers. If anything else, hold onto the glow of being with people, or away from people, and try to enjoy and embrace the moment. Moments like these, only come around occasionally.

Slàinte -
T

Edit/addendum:
Just in case, people have not been reading My Lady's Blog...

We're having a party. Fi's Birthday, 21st, the legal-drinking party, "duex" is happening on Thursday night at Kieran's Irish Pub in Downtown Minneapolis. (map) Dinner is at 7:00pm, and the serious drinking starts at 8:00pm. Live music, and enjoyment all night!

If you KNOW Fiona or myself, hell... Even if you don't, and just want to meet a strange Brit/Yank couple at a fun b-day party... Please come. Let Fiona know you're coming, or send regrets to My Lady. Cheers!

-T

Happy Christmas Eve...

Or, whatever...

Sorry. The Christmas spirit is being upheld in my current house-hold simply 'cause we're doing "family" stuff.

In fact... My wife and her mother-in-law (my mom) are currently up in the kitchen preparing a turkey.

Interesting, no?

No, seriously... I'm a bit apprehensive. Half of the sit-coms in America have dealt with the "first Christmas" thing, and invariably, the battles begin, or at least the battle-lines are drawn in the kitchen. They seem to be really happy right now, and everything seems to be going very well... Is it the "calm before the storm" or are they actually preparing to open hostilities and soon the world will crumble...

Well, they're both still smiling, so... I don't know. It seems to be all Dalai Lama in the house, at the moment...

But anyhoo... "Christmas." Lately our current Nazi-Pope had just decried the "commercialism" of the Christmas season. (not supplying the link, ya'all can find it if you really want to.) But seriously... Thanks Ratszinger... You're right. It's really commercial. But you know what, bud? No one cares. Nothing you say will have any bearing on anything anyone in the West will do. It's unfortunate, that the Catholic Church has lost it's Western flock... And It is even MORE unfortunate that the Nazi-Pope was elected... 'Cause all the good Catholics are living in South America or Africa, and the church completely ignored it's supposed "third-world" flock by electing the Nazi-Pope... So your eminence... Deal with it.

I digress...

Yeah... (I hate to admit this) but yeah... I agree with Nazi-Pope. Christmas HAS lost its real meaning in the rush to shop. It's unfortunate.

The fact is... The only way to try to hold onto the "feeling" and "true-meaning" of this holiday season, is to be with your family, cook together... Eat together, and be together. Ignore the fact that it's the last shopping day of the season, and stay home! It's that simple. We have an enforced weekend of being domestic. I'm sure it's driving a lot of American's insane, as they'd all rather be able to go to work... Or... If you're a Brit, half of you are currently at the pub, as I write this, and although you 'can't' actually be in the pub tomorrow... You're going to be there on Boxing Day (St. Steven's Day, or the 26th of Dec.) and you're going to be trying to recover from all the "domesticity" that you had to put up with on the 25th.

But you shouldn't be like that... Neither the Yanks or Brits should be the way we are... We should be enjoying the season, the enforced rest (if you're non-religious) that this time brings us. Your family won't be around for the rest of your life. All life moves on... All people must also. So... You know what?

I'm going to enjoy my first "Christmas" with my wife and my mother... I'm going to enjoy going to my crazy extended-familial mess tomorrow with all my crazy cousins and aunts and uncles, and try to enjoy everything about this time.

It's time... It'll be gone too soon. And like a normal person, I'm going to bemoan the lost opportunities. But... Hopefully, I won't dwell TOO much on what I have missed. Simply 'cause for now, I'm going to carpe diem the hell out of this time.

Slàinte!
Tuckmac

Darn...

Okay,

So yesterday, I used a whole bunch of swear-words, and was really pissy... And I got nothing!

Not one, "OH, Dude, that sucks." or a "Yeah, that happened to me once." or... "It'll all work out in the end."

Nothing.

Obviously I'm not feeling the love.

Damn.

Anyhoo... We're doing okay. Got a soon to be new domain name for Fi and myself. We're going to do a web-site for BOTH of us... Got a new provider (supposedly, still haven't heard back from the place) to host the domain... And also signed up for RoadRunner Cable Broadband for the house. Almost up to normal speed again.

More lawyer stuff is in the works... But that's boring, and I'm not really meant to talk about it, especially on a "subversive" blog like this one. So... Yeah.

Still doing the "job-searching" thing. Not fun... Not fun at all.

It's really nice here. Seriously... It's meant to be up to 41°F ('bout 5°C) this afternoon. Nice... I like Minnesotan winters, at least they're not boring.

Have a great Christmas Eve Eve... And Hanukah Eve Eve, and whatever else today is...

Fricking religions. Doesn't anyone understand that the only holiday that's important in December, the SOLSTICE is already PASSED?

Man...

Smiles,
T

APPLE SUCKS!

Yeah... Yeah...

Okay, maybe that was a little mean... But...

Okay, got home last night...

Okay... I keep typing "okay." Sorry, 'bout that. It's just when I get angry, I tend to say, "Okay... So..." a LOT. I'll try to refrain.

Got home last night, and the new Apple Airport Extreme had arrived.

Plugged it in, and the magic "just plug and go" shit DID NOT HAPPEN!

It's just sitting there FLASHING it's LIGHTS at me... And it's NOT meant to do that... It's supposed to flash a "little" and then just have the middle light on.

It's middle light isn't on... It's flashing with the light on the right side too... And it's not showing up on either my great Mac, or Fiona's...

So...

They suck.

Plus... Tried to CALL Apple, and the guy was like... We support you for your computer, not for the peripherals... And my laptop was too OLD to be supported... Then he hung up on me.

Fucker.

Fucking Mac SHITE!

FUCK!

Bastards.
- T

Gah, it's Wednesday already? Shite.

Well...

The good news, is that although it's Wednesday, and I'm a bit nervous about how fast time is moving... I know that every day this week so far, My Lady and I are getting a lot accomplished.

Yesterday... We put together furniture. That's right... It was an all day event. We were pleased to receive many gifts from our wedding... Some of these gifts were in the form of kitchen items... Like the marvellous bread-machine that our friend Lexie gave us. (Thanks again, Lexie, it's amazing.) Others were in the form of a wonderful little dinette set from Fiona's father Roger... (1 hour and 45 minutes to assemble) and a coffee table and computer desk/stand thing from Fiona's Mother, Step-father and sibs. (4 hours and 58 minutes to assemble). Yeah... The stuff is great! We love it! But DAMN do the morons that write the directions need to be fricking fired! What a mess! Fiona and I both spent a bit of time DISassembling things, in order to re-assemble in the correct way. It was frustrating. However... Now that they're together... Our studio is starting to look more like OUR studio. It's great!

In between building things... Fiona and I went skating... Here's a rather horrible-resolution-ed photo from my camera-phone. Yeah... Sorry. But I didn't have my REAL camera with me:


It was fun! I talked about the "Toe-pick" incident on the first day of owning skates... And I can say that after an hour and a half of skating yesterday, I'm getting used to the damn things... You really CAN turn on a dime. (Brits, think 5p sized coin).

Anyhoo... As to news... You'll notice I'm not doing much of that at the moment. Well... That's due to us having to deal with our somewhat recalcitrant government in getting Fiona's visa sorted. Therefore, I'm watching just how "subversive" I am, just till our legal battles are sorted.

Sorry.

Anyhoo... I hope you're all well... And enjoy the winter solstice.

Blessed Yule!

Tuckmac

What a week so far...

Well readers... It's been interesting.

My friend Mick has now finished his Bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Criminal Justice (or something like that) so... Congrats, Mick!

Fiona and I are still working towards her permanent residency in the U.S. It's not fun. Paperwork... Paperwork. The thing we're trying to do at the moment is write letters. Me about my love for Fiona, and vice versa. Do you know how hard it is to describe the love of your life and the meeting, and wooing, and marriage to this person, all on one fucking sheet of U.S. letter-sized paper?

Shit.

A big shout-out to our friend Lex, for the wedding-gift of the Bread machine! WOW! We used it for the first time last night, and 58 minutes after adding the ingredients, we had a fresh gorgeous loaf of onion-bread! (My Lady just brought me two pieces of toast from said loaf... Yum!)

I've quit working at the Mall of America (or the endless pit of despair) this past weekend. There just wasn't time in my schedule to allow for a poorly-paying piece of shite job! My final shift there was 13 hours long... ON MY FEET... And I can't tell you how great it is to let that one go.

Fiona and I are also working on the basement... Creating the studio from which we will work until money is better, and we can get an "out-side" studio. It's interesting... But we've been good at working in the same environment... So that's a wonderful thing.

We bought ice-skates on Sunday. And went skating together at the park down the street from the house that night. Being a Minnesotan... I've always had hockey skates. Well... The new ones are 'grown-up' figure skates... Black, nice looking... Wonderful. But... With a toe-pick. You know, that dangerous little bit at the front of the blade with teeth? Well... There's a film with D.B. Sweeney and Moira Kelly called "The Cutting Edge" where a hockey player learns to figure skate and wins the Olympics with his partner and eventual lover... Well... I love that film. I really do. Anyhoo... During his first time on figure skates... He keeps falling forward and hurting himself, and the Moira's character keeps smiling and saying "Toe pick." and laughing.

Okay... I had a "toe-pick" moment... And it wasn't fun. How the hell are you meant to skate with those damn things on the blade?

Shit.

Finally... Here's a great photo of Monsieur Sorebum kicking it back in the snow... More photos to come!



Smiles,
T

Decisions

My Lady and I had a long talk yesterday. You see, we've been waffling about our futures.

Yes... The talk was a rather deep discussion. Anyhoo...

For a long while, we thought that perhaps since she was from Britain, and I was from the States, we'd look for work in BOTH places. You know, to cover the bases. This was also because Fiona is not going to be able to BE here in the States for very long, as her visa is still in process, and will take a year or more before she's allowed permanent residency. I don't want to be away from my wife for that long.

The idea that we had come up with, was that we would both look for our dream jobs me, here in the U.S. and her back in the U.K. If she found her dream job in Britain, then I'd pack up, and move to England to try to find a job too... And conversely... If I found my dream job here in the States, then she'd come over here, as soon as her visa was sorted, to find a job over here.

It seemed to be a wonderful idea.

But it was flawed. By both of us looking in separate countries, too many issues were brought into play. The most worrying would be that both of us would find our dream jobs on separate sides of the pond, thus causing some consternation. But there were other issues.

Anyhoo... After discovering that I wouldn't be teaching a J-Term class at River Falls... And receiving some new news from our immigration attorney... We decided that we would just buckle down, and give it a go in the States.

It's still scary.

It's still up in the air.

We're still a mess.

But by making a firm "married couple" decision to stay here and tough it out... We've actually been able to focus our drive, and thus really make a concerted effort at finding our futures.

Depression is something that we're both fighting off, but there IS a light at the end of the tunnel.

Wish us luck, gentle readers... We are really going to need it.

Smiles,
T

Meh...

I just got some really shit news... The J-Term class that I was meant to be teaching in January at River Falls has fallen through due to a lack of enrolment.

Wow. Kids didn't want to spend eight hours a day in a computer lab for three weeks? What's wrong with them? Huh? I ask you!?!?!?!?!

Well... Actually, that was rhetorical.

Anyhoo... I'm still a bit in shock, and I'm not sure how to feel about it. It's funny. That damn course was actually the sole reason that I ended up coming back to the U.S. After the wedding, and after seeing my friends from the States whilst they were guests at the "affair to be remembered"... I honestly thought about staying. I had realised that I didn't "miss" home, I missed my friends and my mother. Once I had seen them, I didn't really feel the need to come back to the States. But...

I had this course to teach. I had to come back. I had done lesson-plans, and was actually rather excited to do the course.

Both My Lady and I have been experiencing some problems with the States, and with our futures, and work, and et cetera. Dealing with something that our immigration lawyer termed "reverse culture-shock" a depression about returning to your former home, and dealing with the fact that it was AGAIN one's home. Okay... Perhaps there's some of that. I admit that I felt very at home in Britain, and wasn't so sure about my homecoming.

Then... The one reason that I came back, has now fallen through.

How am I meant to feel? Seriously. That's a real question. I mean... I don't really know how I feel about this little issue. I've always believed that the fates were fickle. But this just takes the cake.

I have to believe that there's some higher reason that My Lady and I are going through these problems, and that somehow, my loss of this work-experience fits into some higher plan that the fates have drawn out for me... But me being simply human, I do not have the foresight to see through to the end of this current path.

I was meant to be in the States. I was meant to experience these problems, and issues that have been heaped upon my shoulders. I am supposed to be in the States, and the fates knew that I wouldn't have returned unless I had felt an obligation to my old alma mater... But what? What is the reason? I'm ready to KNOW now. Please.

Before I really DO crack up, and my wife has to commit me.

Ger.

Tuckmac

Apologies readers...

I realise that I've been rather remiss at actually keeping up with the posting, lately. And unfortunately, I'm not sure when all will be settled enough to allow me to return to daily posting. I'm not saying I WILL NOT return to it, I'm just not sure as to the schedule.

You see... My wife is here, visiting from Scotland. I'm working forty to forty-five hours a week at my horrible employer's place in the Mall of America, and trying to get our lives sorted. You see... I'm living at home with the parent. Thus, my wife is now "living at home with the in-law" and... Well...

I'm sure I don't have to go into it.

Wait... Before you all begin with your "evil-chuckles" no... They don't fight. In fact, they're getting on quite swimmingly... There's a certain "team-up" and "get the man" thing happening... And I'm not sure if it's really safe here, at all for my continued health. ;-)

No... It's just an adjustment time, and I'm not finding room in my schedule to check my E-MAIL every day, let alone do a blog posting.

But... We're still here... We're having a good time... And I've been told that I must quit my job, (an edict from both my wife and my mother) and thus will have a bit more time to keep up on the blog. You see... I'm starting a "real-esque" job at the end of this month... And they both think that I need more time to prepare for my "real-esque" job, and also to get my C.V. and portfolio updated... So...

I bow to their collective wisdom, like any good man... And will ride off into the sunset, and out of retail.

I wish you readers a good day!

Tuckmac

Blah Blah Blah, Yadda yadda yadda ghoti

Hi everyone... I'm afraid you're not going to get a very long post today, either, as I really can't be arsked to give a tail.

No offense or anything but... Fiona and I are running about, quite busy really, and trying to do a nice long drawn-out blog entry is just beyond my abilities.

Met with the Lawyer, and we're good. The border patrol guy was just really evil, and that sometimes you "get lucky" and get the fuck head. But beyond that, all our stuff is in order, and life is good.

We've been visiting several of my favourite places in Minneapolis, and today we're scooting around St. Paul, 'just cause' you know... To be fair
Okay... I'm off... Fi's looking at me in a rather disturbing way...

Slàinte -

Tuckmac.

She's Here!

That's right, My Lady has finally arrived in the US.

She had problems at immigration... In fact, the guy's threatening to kick her out of the country, and ban her from re-entering. We're not sure whether or not he has the power or even the ability to do this... But we're a bit freaked out. That being said... I personally think that the guy was trying to "scare" us into making a mistake, but as we weren't doing anything wrong, there wasn't much he could do... I don't know... It's a pain in the ass!

Anyhoo... She's here... We had a nice dinner last night at the house, stayed up way too late drinking beer and talking. Fiona's upstairs at the moment getting ready for the day... We're going to go have lunch, and then make our way downtown. I can't wait to check into the room, and have a really nice time in the Cities. There's so much to show her, and I'm just getting excited.

I'm writing this blog from her computer, right now... Her parents bought her a little 12" G4 Powerbook. It's adorable. So cute, and tiny, just like My Lady!

Well... Tonnes to do, and very little time to do it. But I wanted to thank everyone that's been pulling for us, and thank you also for your continued support.

I'm off... More tomorrow, I think... The hotel is "wired" so we'll both be bringing our laptops down with us. Yeah.... Yeah... We're both THAT dorky.

Smiles and Kittens!

-- T

Saturday

Like my friend Mick, I've been thinking about hibernation today. Pretty much, just 'cause I had a really long shift at the "Evil Employer's" yesterday, and I have an even LONGER shift today... And tomorrow... Well, a shorter shift than today, but probably longer than yesterday's...

Confused? Me too.

Anyhoo...

My Lady is here in just a few more days, and I'm getting really excited to see her. She arrives Monday afternoon... And on Tuesday and Wednesday night, we'll be staying downtown Minneapolis at the Embassy Suites Hotel. I'll be doing the "Show Fiona Minneapolis" thing, and if anyone from the Cities has an idea of a "do not miss" thing, please reply to this post, and give me some ideas! I'm already thinking of doing the Walker, McCormicks and Schmicks for a dinner, Brit's Pub for a meal and a pint... Etc... But if anyone knows something that I simply MUST BRING FIONA TO, then let me know. I may not put the same level of importance on your ideas, as I do on my own, but... I'll listen. And I'll ask Fiona what she'd like to do too!

Well... I'd love to keep yakking... But I must start getting ready for work.

Gah.

Slightly sad smiles,
T

In Memoriam

I just found out today that one of my best friends has passed away, quietly, in his sleep, back in Canterbury.

Rob Rook, amazing friend, confidant, and man.



Rob was born in Kent, grew up in Herne Bay, and moved to Canterbury to work in the Marlowe Theatre. He worked as the Stage Manager for countless years, and retired due to health concerns years ago. Although his physical heart might not have been very strong, Rob's emotional heart was the biggest, strongest and most caring heart of any man I have ever met. He was my good friend, and I was blessed by being considered his good friend too.

Rob was a regular at the Bell and Crown Pub, in Canterbury, where I met him. Rob was daily, at the end of the bar, throwing the occasional quip about a customer, or about my president, and had an encyclopedic knowledge of music. Rob introduced me to "American Folk" music, which was rather amusing, since I was an American, and he was English.

My fondest memories from Canterbury are not spent in KIAD working in my studio, rather they are the memories of Rob, Lucy, Anastasia and My Lady and I spending time together in the Bell, or at the park near Fiona's and my house at the old Dominican Priory Orchard. This past summer spent with Rob and my other friends will be some of the happiest days of my life. Rob was a patient and amazing person who touched everyone he knew in so many ways. He was a teacher of life; a student of life, and a connoisseur of enjoyment in it's every form. Rob was able to come to our wedding in October. He was the chauffer for Fiona on the "Big Day" itself, and I know that the wedding wouldn't have been the same if Rob were not able to come. The day after the wedding, Rob and my other friends and My Lady and I spent time in the hotel residents’ lounge, drinking wine and beer, and talking until all hours of the night. I know that Rob lived for company and enjoyment. His wisdom touched everyone around him.

Rob, you will be sorely missed. Fiona and I spent so much time in your presence, and I have to admit, I feel cheated that I wasn't able to spend more time with you. You've touched my life in so many ways, and I know that I'm a better person because of the time I spent with you.

Good-bye Rob. I love you and miss you terribly.

-- T