Jeff was born in 1952 in Watford. Dad and Granddad were both ambulance drivers at Holywell hospital where we also lived He went to Victoria Boys School in west Watford which was separated from the girl’s school but spent a fair amount of time jumping over the wall. He was popular at school and always had plenty of friends. Jeff played football for local boys in a youth league and he remained a supporter of Watford Football Club for all his life. The other team he supported was West Ham and he particularly admired Geoff Hurst. Because mum was ill Jeff went to live with Auntie Audrey and Uncle Charlie”Shackles” Bate who lived a 2 minute walk from Watford FC’s ground and on a Saturday morning hoards of his mates would gather and discuss excitedly the forthcoming match, and as he found himself a part of their family he was often taken on their holidays to Padstow where Charlie was born before he met his wife Audrey he Loved his time in Cornwall Sister Brenda went to live with another aunty Doreen and Uncle Derek. When Brenda got married, Jeff lived with Sister Brenda and family until he met Angie While he lived with us, he and his mates would often baby sit for us and in 1966 when England won the world cup, he sat with Chris on his lap (Chris was a few months old) throughout the whole match and told Chris every time that Geoff Hurst touched the ball!! Jeff left school and went to work as an apprentice at a local engineering firm, but he didn't enjoy being indoors and left to work for a local builder Charlie Higgs who encouraged him to pick up the plastering trowel and soon found he had a natural flair for it, he was with Charlie until his retirement when he went on to work for a friend who trained Jeff in not just brick and block laying skills but all round aspects of the building trade Jeff's outgoing personality struck a chord with Charlie and they were very close. Jeff loved music and was a great fan of early soul on the Stax & Motown labels but was also a great fan of The Who and T Rex, who he saw live on numerous occasions and also had the privilege to see Otis Redding at Wembley He attended the Isle of Wight festival in 1970 Jeff was a bit of a prankster, he once came home, slightly worse for wear, at 3am and woke me up by putting a huge white rabbit he had found on top of me in the bed! He thought it was great fun when I woke up with a rabbit inches from my face! In 1972 we all went on holiday in a caravan in Clacton. In the next caravan there were three girls on holiday - one of them was Angie! After knowing Angie 8 days he proposed and they were married 14 months later in November 1973 In 1974, daughter Georgina was born followed by son Danny in 1976 Almost every family holiday was spent in Padstow and after each visit it became harder and harder to leave until the day when we got the opportunity to move and we jumped at the chance We moved into Netherton Road on a Saturday in 1987 and Jeff started work within a couple of days with local builders Bealing & Roberts In 1990 after having such a laugh having our very first “go” at Karaoke we got the chance to buy a machine Our very 1st gig was given to us by the then Landlord & Landlady Charlie and Jean Luke in the jammed packed Harbour Inn Padstow, masses of people turned out to see this new form of entertainment, from what we can remember of that night it was carnage, from that night we became know as “LOONEYTUNES” because quite simply it was LOONEY! We quickly filled up our diary with bookings at local pubs, clubs, hotels and holiday camps and worked 7 nights a week in that 1st summer, we quickly realised that whilst the parents were trying to pluck up the courage to have a sing on the Karaoke their kids needed entertaining, while we were waiting and playing background music, because we had taken this giant step from Jeff being a builder and Angie merely a cleaner with no previous experience, it was then that we developed a kids time package to keep them amused with games and dancing….we went on to get re-booked year after year and spent over 10/12 years at Valley Park Polzeath, Point Curlew St Merryn, Gull Rock Hotel Porth, St Ives Bay Hayle, every Friday night for over 10 years at King Arthurs Arms Tintagel and more recently every Sunday night for 4 years at The Swan Wadebridge We were soon getting booked for kiddies parties locally and in some cases we entertained many times at 5th birthday parties then 16th and 18th and even their wedding receptions! We provided the wedding entertainment for 3 generations of one Padstow family During the 20+ years spent partying we found ourselves helping with Padstow Youth Forum and it soon became a mission to help them get a dedicated building of their own for activities, we started a round of various fund raising events including song and dance shows to swell the fund, we took 2 of those shows to the Royal Cornwall Show with dancing in the Radio Cornwall Marquee Many of those young people also became our assistants at local events such as Padstow Carnival parties on the quay We had memorable day trips to places like Alton Towers, Bridgewater Carnival, Butlins and a couple of residential trips to London & Manchester Fantastic long lasting friendships with some fabulous memories It took many years of fund raising but that building was finally built and stands in Senders Hill Car Park for many more generations to enjoy Jeff juggled the building by day and the entertainment by night and he was at his happiest on renovations, he loved his time with Gordon Derry’s of Wadebridge and whilst with them worked on local contracts including building the visitor toilets at Prideaux Place and the harbour side shop know as Crew Clothing In more recent times he worked for 3 years with Darren Healy’s Truro based company and converted a series of barns in Porthleven, he was also foreman on the rebuild of an end of terrace wall in St Austell Town Centre as part of the towns Regeneration project where it was painted with local famous people sitting in a café He loved the idea that something he helped build would stand for many years which gave him a great sense of achievement Jeff adored being a granddad and used them to practice new dances and jokes on them to see if they enjoyed them and on many occasions when out and about on family daytrips or holidays he would buy cream cakes or ice creams and happily smear them all over his face just to hear them giggle, but also to encourage them to join in as well much to the annoyance of their mother! Our family have always known just how lucky we were to have been able to call Padstow our home, and it was made possible by the wonderful people of Padstow that led to such peace and contentment that gave Jeff a life filled to the brim with such brilliant memories………………Thank You No Regrets