My brother John passed away peacefully on Saturday 27th January following a truly courageous battle with metastatic acral melanoma. I was at his side. Determined not to let the cancer rule his life, he chose to keep his health and prognosis relatively quiet, and lived his life as normally as possible for as long as possible. Always such a rock and a guide for me, I’ll be absolutely lost without him, but I count myself lucky to have had such a wonderful brother, who has always been there for me no matter what. He was an amazing friend to so many of you, always there to lend an ear, offer advice, or raise an eyebrow!


In true Johnny style, he did not want the fuss of a funeral - in his own words, “we’ve been to enough funerals already”.  Perhaps in lieu, you could raise a glass to him one evening.  If anyone would like to make a charitable donation on John’s behalf, I’ve selected a few charities with meaning to John.


Shine Cancer Support - John was a strong advocate of more support for younger adults living with cancer, and I’m not sure he was aware of this particular group, but it looks absolutely fantastic. 


St Ann’s Hospice - When exploring options, we visited the Heald Green hospice, and the design for their new hospice at Heald Green would make such a difference to people’s lives during end of life care. John was really impressed by it, and by the kindness and dedication of the individuals he met on his visit. 


John was so impressed by the services offered by Maggie’s and I was grateful to the volunteers at Maggie’s for their support during John’s treatment. 


Sleep tight bro. Love you.