Calm, Patient & Practical
As cool as a cucumber, the patience of a saint, and as practical as… nope, I’ve run out of similes. A selfless soul, John-Luke would help us out of a pickle... whether it was saving a wedding cake, taking on driving duties in foreign countries, or acting as removal man for friends… he wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, and had the altruistic nature to help people other than himself without a second thought. His willingness to learn new skills were especially put to good use in doing up his and other people’s houses and gardens.
John-Luke in one of his favourite places
Enjoying his drive down the Las Vegas strip
Finished wedding cake, courtesy of JL’s cool head
Lockdown project - homemade veg beds
Kiki modelling JL’s first sewing creation
Relaxing during work on the old house
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JL was always calm and talked me down from my many stressy panics, usually after having got shouted at about something that wasn’t even his fault! I volunteered to make the cake when my brother got married in 2014: I always get all the credit for making it, but we did every part of it together, and when I basically had a breakdown in the final stages when something went wrong with decorating, he kept me from giving up on it completely and figured out how to save it! And that’s really how it was with everything in our lives. I couldn’t have done so many things without his practicality and steady presence by my side. He did most of the driving on our holidays, mainly because I would get so stressed. One time I was having to reverse the camper van in New Zealand across a narrow bridge, and I just gave up halfway, got out and made him do it! Another time I hurt my toe at the end of a hike and he had to piggy back me across the beach and into the boat we were catching to get back to the camper van. His practical nature meant John-Luke enjoyed figuring out how to do things himself, he loved to potter and had built some veg beds and a bench in the garden, made a light fitting for the hallway and rewired all our pendant lights to coloured cord. He enjoyed DIY, and collecting powertools! One of his favourite places was B and Q, and he would often go and have a little outing there if he was stressed. He had bought a sewing machine recently and was going to start making clothes for Kiki. The first thing he’d tried was making her a jacket out of an old football shirt.
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One particularly eventful university reunion, everyone visited us in East Dulwich and helped us to demolish a wall in our new house. John-Luke very sensibly suggested we should use masking tape to secure a pane of glass before we all took to it with a sledge hammer….so off he and I trotted to the local DIY store. I am sure he definitely saved us from having a massive disaster!!!
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He kindly helped me when I was in difficulty with someone who kept changing the lock on my postal box at my flat. After asking JL for advice, he came down at lunchtime with a drill, goggles and gloves, drilled the lock out, in the process I thought the wall would collapse! I said to him it will probably happen again, he replied ‘get me a pen and paper and I’ll write them a note’. It read ‘come and see me if there is an issue - no 10’. I said ‘what if they come and see me?’ With his quick wit he said ‘well I won’t be here!’. However his plan worked and it didn’t happen again. He became a good friend and colleague
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When we first moved to Swindon we were without secure jobs, or a flat. Without hesitation, John-Luke was a guarantor for us, and even helped us move in. On more than one occasion. In fact, after several delays, our moving date for our current house ended up being the day Ellen and John-Luke were flying to Greece. Yet they spent the morning traipsing wardrobes and sofas down 5 flights of stairs, before jetting off. Not quite the start to their holiday they anticipated I am sure! Another memorable time was when Ellen and John-Luke very kindly and generously took on the task of making our wedding cake. I am not sure any of us envisaged what a huge task this would be, but what an absolute success they made of it! A fantastic, 3 tier, beautifully decorated red velvet cake, which my 94-year-old Nan still insists is the best cake she has ever tasted. I have to agree!
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JL was a very calming influence as my best man. I was pretty nervous but he made it easier just by being there and being him!
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The WhatsApp chat I had going with JL was a treasured little piece of cyberspace for me. It was like a sanctuary. If something or someone had pissed me off, then I knew I would get a well measured, philosophical response from JL. We shared the same worldview, so it acted as a therapeutic echo chamber. I’d come away feeling much calmer.
Clever & Knowledgeable
John-Luke was such a clever clogs, but you wouldn’t hear him say that… he was jam-packed with humility and self-deprecation. He could run rings round most of us, but never did (we’ll forgive him his crowing when he won at board games though). Instead he had the nous to help people feel supported and at ease. He was always full of cracking ideas (apart from leaving a cockroach under a cup for the hotel maids to deal with!) and encouraged others to think differently, but never in a confrontational or condescending way.
Stopped by schoolchildren practising their English, probably because of his Kermit jumper
Pretending to work in his lockdown office
An innocent smile, but he knows he’s winning
Office fun in the early days at EH
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John-Luke was very clever, and so interested in learning about the world around him. He was brilliant at board games because of his analytical mind, and not only this but he just knew so much random stuff. He was an ace at TV quizzes, and so good at Scrabble I wouldn’t play it with him anymore. One time in Japan we were stopped by a student who wanted to ask us a question for a paper he was writing. He asked us this long complicated question about Japanese versus English politics, and asked our opinion on the topic. I remember looking wide-eyed at John-Luke in panic, having no idea what to say, but he just coolly answered really comprehensively like it was a topic he’d been studying for ages. I was just always so impressed with how much he knew, and he was always so modest about it. He passed all of his accountancy exams first time, which I know is something that doesn’t happen very often, even though it was something he didn’t really want to be studying. But when he set his mind to something then that was that, he’d get it done. He never made anyone else feel like they weren’t intelligent or showed off his cleverness, correcting or lecturing people like some people do. He was just so good humoured and inclusive. Although I do remember one time recently when he tried to get me to do a mental maths test in the newspaper, and when I couldn’t do some of it, he laughed because he thought I was joking..!
Sometimes he had bad ideas, but not often. Once in Japan he trapped a large cockroach in our room under a cup, and then tried to explain to the kind lady when we left using hand gestures what had happened - she must have got such a fright when she went in to clean! Another time at home he decided a good solution to the holes in our front path would be to sweep sand down them. But it just washed away, and we were walking sand into the house for a while after that!
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John-Luke was a fantastic colleague, and as I’m someone to whom financial accounting does not come easily, he always went out of his way to explain things in a way that I was able to understand and was so patient.
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He helped me so much when I had to take care of a budget for the first time, he put me at ease and reduced my anxiety by explaining everything clearly. Whenever I needed to ask a question he was always so helpful and kind, never patronising or making me feel incompetent.
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There were so many subjects I would pick JL’s brains over. He was a proper smarty pants. He helped steer me when buying my first house. I’d even run ideas for my job past him - even though he was admittedly no good at anything arty farty, he had enough general nous (and honesty!) to tell me when one of my ideas didn’t quite add up, or was just plain shit!
Friendly & Inclusive
John-Luke was a brilliant friend, and all our lives were richer for it. He always made everyone feel included and wanted… a rare talent, but just another string to his badass bow (he would scoff at all this bigging up we’re doing!). He loved the high jinks of work nights out, bants with the football lads, WhatsApp tomfoolery and meeting new people that he could sprinkle his warmth and affability over. John-Luke was a bona fide one-off, and whether we’d known him for decades or just a few months, we all feel a huge JL-shaped gap now he is gone (but definitely not forgotten).
Scroll through the photos below, of JL with some of his many friends:
Cheesy grins with Linzee!
No longer incarcerated... a miracle considering they were locked in with the Sharps!
JL looks like he's photobombing, but I have it on good authority that he WAS invited.
No idea who this jerk is. Answers on a postcard please...
More 90s than an episode of 'Friends'... a college get together back in the day.
Twickenham sculpture garden... the statue in the red t-shirt is very realistic.
I don't think Tom approves of JL's choice of aftershave!
Nights out with his work mates... which he would infamously turn up (fashionably) late for!
STRIIIIIKE! Bowling night with work chums. JL's stance has the suspicious air of someone who's just won (probably).
Looking rather dapper with his uni chums
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Before we were together, John-Luke and I were friends. We met at college at the age of 16 while doing our A levels. The summer before university we would stay up all night talking, lying on sun loungers on our friend’s balcony in sleeping bags, and watching planes come in to land at Heathrow. He became my best friend back then, before we decided we were a couple. He stayed my best friend for the 23 years we were together. He was always the first person I wanted to tell things to, and often the only person I wanted to spend time with. He was always there for me, listening to my anxieties and stresses, quietly making me a better person just by being him. I think to be honest a lot of people feel like John-Luke was their best friend. That’s just the kind of person he was. Kind, loyal, patient and giving, he always had time for everyone and gave them his full attention. I don’t think I‘ve ever met anyone who didn’t like him. He had this natural skill with people, to make them feel at ease, welcome and included. That is a rare gift, and it’s one that I certainly don't have. He had so many friends, but I don’t think he ever would have accepted how popular he was if we’d told him. He would have been amazed by how many people came to his remembrance party, and wouldn’t have believed how much impact he had on so many people’s lives.
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John-Luke was more of a Brother to me than a friend. He was my confidante for over 25 years and there are things I told him that I have never shared with anyone else. When it comes to stories/memories, I have tonnes - but a few that stick out are:
• Our GCSE ‘Revision’ sessions which regularly descended into band practice or 4hour games of PGA Tour Golf on the Mega Drive!
• Our band’s one and only gig for my Dad’s 50th Birthday Party – rudely interrupted by the environmental health and police!”
• Our “On the Way home from the pub” Street Olympics. Most commonly taking place on the corner of Cross Deep and Pope’s Grove. Also, once interrupted by several members of the local constabulary!
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John-Luke was my closest childhood friend. HIs childhood was mine, our memories were shared and our paths intertwined. He was smart, funny, and confidently unique, the focal point and glue to our group of friends. I have so many memories, our first gigs and band, weekly football in all weathers, tie dye kits for the team (I’m sure JL was voted captain!). John-Luke had the confidence to like what he liked, whether it be silly, trendy, deeply uncool - it didn’t matter! We did drift apart as we got older, who knows why, but I always felt there would be a time when we were closer again.
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JL and I spent a lot of time at uni reading the papers, watching Neighbours and Fifteen to One, and talking nonsense one minute, politics the next. We played a lot of [the cardgame] shithead - often all night - and wrote essays alongside each other for moral support - again often all night, having left them to the last minute. There is no way I could have got through the finals without our ‘how to pass exams’ strategy, and without his endless humour.
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JL was a good friend and I shall miss him so much. I shall miss our long chats that always began with ‘this is just a quick one’ but never was. I shall miss his laugh, his humour and the way he could make me feel ok about everything (even when we were super stressed). I shall miss the fun he’d make out of everyday things. I shall miss the silly gifts he gave, like the toe’d socks from Japan he gave me for Katie to wear with flip flops for swimming. I shall miss him always being there to help me, even with my kids homework (like when you both gave me details from your trip to Russia). I will miss him winding me up to make me roll my eyes and smile. I will miss our chats when he would make me feel good about the decisions I made. I will miss our gossips, I will miss seeing Kiki in our Teams chats. But most of all I will just miss JL.
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John-Luke was one of the kindest, nicest and funniest people I knew. He always made time for you no matter how busy he was.
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JL taught me to be a better person in terms of including people. Everyday, he showed me what it was to be a person who was genuinely open and friendly. He loved to meet new people, talk to them and make people feel welcome. I never said this to him, but I sometimes tried to replicate that behaviour. It doesn’t come as naturally to me, but I enjoy the outcomes when it goes well. That must be what he loved about being how he was with people.
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You brought us together and helped turn a gaggle of random colleagues into a group of friends.
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I feel completely robbed as I only got to work with John-Luke in 2020 on our carbon plan, even though we’d both joined the organisation back in 2003. What an absolute joy he was to work with, I spent a great deal of that time laughing and really appreciated his straight talking and honest views. It was also great to meet a fellow dog lover and I was honoured to meet through the screen his adopted greyhound which clearly had brought him so much enjoyment. For someone I only worked with for six intense months, through a computer screen and not being able to meet in person I have been so upset by his passing, but I think that speaks so much for John-Luke and who he was as a person.
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John-Luke made me feel so welcome at HE, and as a younger worker I really appreciated the fact that he took the time out to get us involved with things like the football.
Kind, Caring & Generous
We all have stories of John-Luke’s kind and caring nature, the things he did for us that went above and beyond, or when he helped us through sticky patches. He was an immaculate friend, colleague, uncle, human, Swindonian, Earthling, and the best person to go to if you had a problem… and no one else could help (other than the A-Team, of course). His nieces and nephews loved spending time with him… as unlike some (and Mr T), he was generous with his time, so DID have time for the jibba jabba. Not sure why we’re comparing JL Doran to BA Baracus… they have nothing in common (apart from the bling!).
With Phoebe at the zoo
A lovely one with Max
Normal service - Ellen alone on the other sofa
Still doing selfies with Harry, even in the rain
Harry and JL, always having the best time together
JL magnetically attracting all the nieces and nephews, as per usual
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John-Luke was an incredibly caring, understanding, and empathetic person. He thought a lot about others and spent a lot of his time doing things for other people, including me. He was always looking out for things that I’d like, giving me little surprise presents for no reason, telling me about things he’d seen that he knew I’d be interested in even if he wasn’t himself. He just loved to make people happy. One time we had both gone shopping separately with some friends, supposedly for Christmas, and both come back with a little present for each other that we couldn’t wait until Christmas to share because we knew how excited the other person would be to have it! We looked after our nephew Harry once a week during term time from when he was 10 months old until he went to school, another thing I could never have done by myself. Harry and John-Luke became extremely close - when we looked after him the normal arrangement of people in the house was me on one sofa and everyone else on the other one cuddling. There was something in his nature that made animals and children love John-Luke. I think he didn’t fuss them or try too hard. He was just himself, and they gravitated to that. John-Luke was always selfless, and when we were both working at home during the pandemic I heard him spend hours talking to his staff and colleagues, listening, supporting them, and making them laugh. It wasn’t just his job - the people John-Luke worked with were very important to him and he genuinely cared and wanted to help with anything if he could, even if he was already busy himself.
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He was two halves of a beautiful soul, he could infect the room with excitement and laughter for the Eurovision Song contest one minute and the next relay a genuine and serious care for others.
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We used to have a lot of ‘cheeky bants’ as he called it, but we had our serious work conversations too. We would often go off for a chat about things that bothered us, listening to each other’s grumbles. We would discuss ideas about how we wanted work to develop and how we would plan to make the world a better place. But no matter how serious a conversation we were having, he would always have a cheeky comment to say, to lighten the tone and to make any situation bearable, if not good. He had such a good heart and could lift anyone’s spirits.
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John-Luke was such a kind and generous person. Whatever the issue, if he could help you, he would. John-Luke was so excited to have a new nephew and he and Ellen played a huge part in Harry’s life. From the very start they were there to help. They looked after Harry when he was only 6 weeks old so that we could go out for dinner. On our return the flat was empty, save a still warm, uneaten Chinese take away. In the distance we could just hear screaming – Harry’s not John-Luke’s! Unfortunately he hadn’t settled, but being the loving aunt and uncle they are, Ellen and John-Luke had persevered and done all they could to give us a few hours to ourselves. Harry had his first real experience of snow with Ellen and John-Luke after Tom and I got stuck on the M25 for 6 hours. There is a wonderful video of Harry stepping gingerly out into the snow and John-Luke asking him what it feels like. I am so grateful to Ellen for giving us the video of this, so we can forever cherish that moment. When I returned to work after maternity leave, Ellen and John-Luke were eager to help look after Harry, even though it meant they had to change their own work hours to accommodate mine. For 5 years they spent their Friday’s at Roves farm, Cotswold Wildlife Park, on the train at the outlet. I loved receiving selfies of them having fun, and Harry built such a beautiful relationship with them. He still calls the Cotswold Wildlife Park train their train. When I asked Harry what he loved most about John-Luke, he said everything. And that seems pretty accurate! They had the most wonderful relationship, Harry would often ask if John-Luke could be his dad too. But he had it better, he was his uncle so could have all the fun! And they had a lot of fun. Some of the moments Harry loved the most though were snuggling down with John-Luke to watch Totoro, or you tube unboxing videos. Or scully funging! Which involved copious amounts of tickling. During Lockdown Harry missed Ellen and John-Luke so much. For his birthday, they invited him to their garden, where they had set up a series of socially distanced activities for him to play, including shooting down targets with the hose. It was so much fun and such a wonderfully thoughtful thing to do. Harry had such an amazing time, and it was such a memorable lock down birthday. Just before COVID hit we spent the evening with Ellen and John-Luke enjoying the window wanderland event, and John-Luke decided he wanted to take part next time. He had decided on a Mario and Luigi themed design. Unfortunately this wasn’t able to happen, but this year we took part and Harry helped to create a Luigi picture for John-Luke.
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John-Luke was an incredible person, the amount of positivity and laughter and perspective he provided is immeasurable. He’s been such a positive influence in my life and for that I can never thank him enough. I’ve learned so much from knowing him, and he’s provided so much guidance and support over the years of knowing him. He was always great to work with, and you could so easily get caught up in long discussions about anything and everything, and he would always end on a humorous take on things. He enriched all our lives.
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We were thinking of you last Wednesday [the day of John-Luke’s burial]. I noticed there were blue skies pretty much all day. On my wedding day last year, we had great weather despite the fact it was the middle of January. JL said to me; "..I guess its nice weather for good people.
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He was an incredibly kind and generous person especially to us, who had children so young and struggled at times. John-Luke and Ellen were a fantastic, generous support to us when the kids were small and during our time in Swindon. They loved their niece and nephews from the moment they were born (travelling up to meet the older two the day they entered the world). Treating them to days out in Lego Land, The Dr Who convention, annual passes to Cotswold Wildlife Park among much much more. Our kids have lovely memories of Uncle John-Luke - what a great, loving and fun one he was and the best scullyfunger in the world (a family word for tickles)! He was always on hand to help thoughtfully too, I struggled to find a suitable job in Swindon when we first moved there until John-Luke contacted me to say he had been on the lookout for me and seen a sign in a property management office window during his lunch break by chance. I ended up spending 2 happy years working there.
Quirky, Confident & Fun
No-one needs telling how much fun John-Luke was, but we’re gonna tell you anyway… in a world full of Brexit, Trump, Boris, COVID and Australia being introduced into Eurovision (EURO-vision!!!), his antics made everyone’s lives that wee bit better - be it the silly holiday pics, bringing joy and downright bemusement with his outlier ideas, or mere mucking about with his mates. He was self-assured, happy in who he was, and wasn’t afraid to be different or laugh at himself… which made him THE best person to be around.
“At the ICAEW members bar. He was trying to be all professional and stylish!” Linzee Simpson
The usual messing about with Harry
Oh the roller skating humanity…
Showing off his Yoshi Easter egg
He loved being in character in that cool 80s costume
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John-Luke was just the most fun person to be with - he was so confident and outgoing and relaxed. He just loved to be silly and enjoy himself, and he didn’t care what anyone thought. I was constantly impressed by this - I am so easily embarrassed, so his easy ability to just be his own person was always amazing to me. One of his favourite daft things was waving at (or from) things, like the kids train in the Outlet village! In Iceland on a ferry he embarrassed me by waving at random strangers as we departed, saying ‘that’s what you do when you’re on a boat’, as the people around us were laughing. He liked to shake things up and do things out of the box, particularly at work, and I know he enjoyed brightening up days in the office with humour and fun. He was so unique, and totally different from anyone else I’ve ever met, in the best way. He just had so many quirky little things that made him who he was. He loved to refer to himself as the JLD; he loved fancy dress; he loved cute little characters like Snoopy, Kermit and Yoshi. He loved to take selfies of him messing about, especially with Harry or Kiki. He loved memes. And there are probably loads of other things I’ve forgotten as I write this. I just never tired of spending time with him and I always missed him even if we were apart for just a short time.
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I loved his wonderful eccentricities and the random objects he would bring into the office. I remember the little pink plastic flower arrangement he said his mother got him. He put it on the windowsill at work. His little collection of random things made me feel much more at ease by having my magnetic Einstein head paperclip holder on my desk.
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Years ago I had bought Simon a skateboard for his birthday and this got John-Luke very excited....the boys met up in Twickenham to display their skills. This apparently involved them nearly getting impaled on some wrought iron fencing, a lot of stumbling and perhaps realisation that they weren’t as good in practice as they thought they would be!!!!
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John-Luke would do anything for Ellen – and that included attending an 80s themed roller disco for her birthday! Dressed appropriately in his dinosaur t-shirt emblazoned ‘Hasta La Pizza’, and neon pink and green arm bands, John-Luke hit the floor with as much enthusiasm as could be mustered. Whilst the rest of us quickly got into the swing of it and raced off around the MECCA, John-Luke took a more steady, cautious approach. Regularly lapped by us, as we sped past giggling, John-Luke was a firm contender for roller skating style of the night – pigeon feet. Think Richard Ayoade roller skating in Central Park and you are halfway there! To be fair to him, he was persistent, didn’t give up, and I’m sure he was the last one going. Funnily enough, he must have been also the only one who didn’t physically hit the floor that night.
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JL was so idiosyncratic. He was like a cross between Richard Ayoade and David Mitchell… a dry, acerbic wit… utterly hilarious… with a loveable quirkiness to him. He was one in a billion.
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Some years ago our young niece Holly came and did her work experience with the finance team. When I asked her how it had been, she said that she initially thought it was all a bit boring but John-Luke had been fun and had made it more interesting. She has now nearly completed her CIMA exams.
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John-Luke had a knack for making finance fun - he used to come along to our Management meetings knowing that he had a hard sell but he turned his reporting into a performance! His enthusiasm was infectious and he soon had us all in line with our forecasting and reporting.
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A number of years ago John-Luke felt that the Archive team didn’t really get excited by finance, and decided with his own money to buy a tiny trophy which would be awarded to the budget holder in the Archive that predicted and spent the closest to their allocated budget. In due course the cup was awarded and sat on the desk of the Head of Archive for the next fews years, and was then passed on to his successor and then passed on again, The trophy cup, which is ridiculously tiny, is located somewhere in the Archive and will be passed on again.
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Even as a toddler, John-Luke had amazing self belief. He would often enter a playgroup room and just look around, choosing what he wanted to play with instead of immediately joining a group. Other children would then come and join in with him. He had to produce a story in Junior school, and being inventive, as well as contrary, he chose to do it in photographs! John-Luke quickly concocted a tale involving his favourite animal, toy pandas (of which he had many!) escaping from his bedroom to safety in the garden below. This inevitably involved lots of string, wire, blu-tack and patience, and time too, as this was well before digital /phone cameras. He enlisted my help and we quickly worked out the sequence, then spent many hilarious moments trying to affix the various pandas into position and keep them there until J-L was ready to snap! It took a while, but he was delighted with the photos when they came back and he proudly presented his panda tale in class. At secondary school he was keen to choose subjects that interested him. One was a D & T course in textiles. He was much teased by his friends and others, but stuck by his choice, saying it was interesting and challenging. Possibly also it didn't hurt to be in a group with 6 girls! He happily sewed and knitted and made some lovely things. At the end he duly got his GCSE and was the only boy in the whole borough to achieve that level.
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I only ever knew John-Luke through Teams but he was such a ball of happiness and enthusiasm, with a ready smile and full of ideas, that I always looked forward to meetings with him. He was liked and respected by everyone who knew him for being not only brilliant at his job but such a wonderful person to know and be around. It was an honour to have known and worked with him, he was one of those rare people who just made the world a better place by being in it.
The Funniest Person We Knew
John-Luke was hands down the funniest person most of us had ever met… Swindon’s answer to Oscar Wilde… the bard of Old Town… he shot from the hip with his wit… brightening our days with every word a quip, retort and sheer delight. Having the knack to make us all laugh even when things were tough. Lots of us struggled to keep up!
“He had just had a haircut, and said he was multitasking, concentrating on looking handsome!" Linzee Simpson
Posing with a statue of Tommy Cooper
Christmas silliness
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I don’t really know where to start with talking about how funny John-Luke was. Most of my memories of us together involve laughter, because that was basically just normal life. So much of my identity is tied up in the things we shared, private jokes and references, etc that are now lost. He was so clever and witty and he frequently made me laugh so hard I would cry - I was so happy and proud when I could make him cry laughing too! No matter what else was going on we always had our shared humour, and I know there wasn’t a day of our life together when we didn’t laugh. In lots of the other sections I talk about specific funny events or incidents that I remember, but really there are just too many to include here because everything was funny to us. Once we were on a rail replacement bus stuck in traffic, and we managed to go into hysterics just because it was quiet. If I’m somewhere familiar, I always remember something funny John-Luke said or did there. If I’m doing something new, I can hear his voice in my head commenting on random things and making jokes; I can feel what he would have said in certain situations, and I know what he would have found funny. I can still hear his giggle, and his loud infectious laugh.
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I have been re-reading my messages with John-Luke over the past few years and they have really pressed home how incredibly witty and hilarious he was. It was also a reminder of how kind and sensitive he was, and how easily he could slip between the two. He could bring you up with a genius one liner just when needed. Quick, sharp and brilliantly clever. That’s the 18 year old I met all those years ago - and that’s how he remained.
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JL was incredibly quick witted. When I first met him, I must admit, I was surprised at how quick he was to respond to almost anything anyone had said and for it to be almost always at least mildly amusing, but often frankly, funny. I was so impressed I used to tell my friends outside of work about him. I used to say he should be on the radio or something! As I was reading through the many emails what I realised was that my responses to him were more humorous and a bit wittier in 2021 than they were in 2005. I am convinced that John-Luke made me a bit sharper in that regard. It was a struggle to keep up with him at times, even over email, let alone in person.
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John-Luke was one of a kind. Such a delight to know with the quickest wit. He was the shining star of our whatsapp group during lockdown and he certainly made my days brighter being a part of that and getting to know him a little better. When he contributed he never failed to make me laugh out loud.
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People like John-Luke are rare. They make the world a better place for the rest of us. With his quick, sardonic wit, he wasn’t what most people think of when they think ‘finance’. He actually made it enjoyable for people to discuss budgets - very rare!
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Even when he was feeling rubbish, he still had his sense of humour. Only a few weeks [before he died], I was in hospital having a scan of my stomach. When I told him I had a scan, he said “They put you through the self-checkout?
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Tom and Charlotte had a leaving do in London before they went off travelling the world. John Luke and Ellen had driven down from Swindon to be there and were going back that night so while everyone else was getting merrily drunk, John Luke had to remain sober and drink Coke. When offered a lemonade he replied, "Oh no thanks, I better not mix my drinks! Or when we took our kids to a play center in Swindon when they were little. It was after lunch but John Luke was hungry. He wanted to order himself some scampi but Ellen reminded him that they were ordering pizza later so shouldn't have scampi now. He went into a mock hump moaning, "I'm a grown man and I'm not even allowed to order scampi with my own money, that I earn!”.
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My predominant memory of JL is before I went to Australia in 2013. My last match for at least a year was approaching and JL sent out the weekly email asking who wanted to play, and this is what he said; '...I also understand this is likely to be Sean Cardis' last game for EHFC before a year in Australia, so I would like to take this opportunity to formally register an official EHFC thank you and make sure you come back! I can't see what Oz has over Swindon other than the weather, the natural beauty, the surfing, the economy, the lifestyle, the bbqs, and the beach babes, so I'm sure you'll be desperate to return soon enough.' He also confirmed that EHFC would not pay for my travel fees each week to come back from Australia and play. Classic JL.
“If you had a Whatapp chat with JL then you’ve probably already seen lots of memes that made him lol! Scattered throughout this page are a few of his faves (you can click into each one to read the text). The videos are ones I listened to him laugh at repeatedly, and he loved to quote bits of them at me.” Ellen Doran.
Recharging the dog!
If you don't share this within 24 seconds then in Blackpool an iguana gets a papercut.
The only good thing about Halloween is if you turn on the radio there's a good chance you'll hear Ghostbusters.
I think people today are mistaking my actual clothes for a halloween costume. Today I have not dressed as some Las Vegas curtains.
Too many entendres.
Just got an email titled 'Single Christians want to meet you'. I'm not sure who that would benefit.
My drug of choice is now salt.
Dreamt about work - can I put that time on Flexi?
Given the fuss in Russia over Pussy Riot, would it help if we jailed Atomic Kitten? I, for one, think its worth a try.
When posting something to someone else on Facebook, JL would quip:
The St Tropez Tanning Shop has closed! I go away for ten nights and they go out of business.
Foods not normally eaten with a spoon are tastier when eaten with a spoon.
Dear Queen: Thanks for the bank holiday but give us all that money back now. And piss off.
I don’t understand the fuss about pic 'n' mix. It’s just overpriced old sweets in tubs.
Early xmas present from one of the cats; a turd in the laundry basket. Cheers guys, don't bother next year though...
Have a kilo of peas for dinner (for four). Fear i may have over catered.
You know you're snappily dressed when you get homophobic comments in a country pub.
I think the hour you lose should be Friday at 4pm rather than losing an hour of sleep.
Office closed! Are there sweeter words in the English Language?
I’m willing to be the next Doctor Who, though the next series would have to be a bit more accounting based.
Social Media
At Europe’s strongest man - how we’re getting home tonight.
On a childhood pic of himself:
Commenter:
You look like Bill Gates
JL:
Enough to access his bank accounts?
On the pic of him roller skating:
commenter:
You should definitely wear the skates to work on Monday.... and the wrist bands!!
JL:
If I set off now I wouldn't make it to work next week on skates. Even downhill.
