Phil was my best and oldest friend.

We met 51 years ago in 1972 when both starting our Civil Engineering degree course at Sheffield Polytechnic. We shared various dubious flats and houses with other close colleagues, over the next 4 years. We weren’t the fastest of learners, but helped each other through the academic studies amidst fixing up each other’s very dodgy cars, having a few beers, watching football and learning to cook for ourselves.

We shared some great holidays and adventures together, including back packing around Greece sleeping on beaches and in half-built villas. After polytechnic we kept in close touch despite both going overseas. This however gave us the opportunity to have further holidays where we could afford beds this time. It was on one such holiday in Cyprus where Phil introduced me to scuba diving, via a lesson in the hotel swimming pool and then we were straight into the ocean – where we met a huge conga eel on my first dive!

I met my lovely wife, and now mother to our two grown up boys, through Phil as she was working in the same office and was a guest at a BBQ he was throwing the day I returned from an overseas job. Phil was then best man at our wedding a year later and I had the great pleasure of returning the favour when he met Anne and also married not long after.

We then shared a few years together whilst both working in Kuwait and had some more adventures; picnicking and BBQs in the dessert and on the beach. On both our returns to the UK we shared some great camping trips and several visits down to Cornwall, Anne’s old stomping ground.

During this time (early ‘90’s) Phil and I started the first of many “Gentleman’s Walking Weekends” in various spots around England and Wales. Main criteria being; good walks with good pubs on route and at end! Several mutual friends including ex-Sheffield Polytechnic colleagues joined over the years. Phil was the main advocate to keep these going after Chris and I departed to New Zealand in ’97 and Phil attended nearly all up to the 2021 edition.

Despite being so far apart for the last 25 years, we have managed to stay in close contact and visited (squeezing in the odd walk and beer) each time we came back to the UK to see friends and family. Phil always put on one of his great BBQs despite all weathers when we visited.

We also managed to spend a couple of evenings with Phil and Anne when they made a long planned visit to New Zealand a few years back and saw a little bit of our home.

I am so glad we managed to catch up again when we recently visiting over xmas and had a great couple of hours reminiscing our adventures spanning many years.

I will miss you Phil but happy that we shared so much together over half a century. There are many like me, who were introduced to many simple pleasures and hobbies from your inspiration.