Ray's death leaves a big space in my heart. He was a very dear friend.
Ray and I first met when I was organising the Cohen event in Lincoln, and discovered that one of the attendees also lived in Leicestershire. We met many times from then on, to spend evenings together in Leicester - lots of drinking and dancing to Irish music at Molly O'Gradys, late night Italian suppers. Ray lived life to the full. He wouldn't drink from Monday to Thursday but, oh boy, he would make up for it on a Thursday night! He was there for all the small Cohen gatherings at The Musician and Phoenix Theatre. He gave me much support and advice when my marriage and life were falling apart whilst he had already divorced and then met and fallen in love with Pat. But mostly, I will always remember him as the most excellent travelling companion a person could have. I have so many fond memories of the trips to Montreal, New York, Hydra...
How can I ever forget the party on Hydra and that superb apartment we rented. (However, I can also remember coming off worse in the fight over which bed I was having ... and found myself in the small child's bed on the mezzanine floor, after the owner brought in extra bedding!! Apparently, she thought that we were 'a couple' and had only made up the double bed.
)
How can I forget our 24-hour dash to Quebec City - He efficiently hired a car, and we booked into the most expensive hotel (a typical Ray-trait, he never wanted cheap rooms), then straight out on the town to practice our French and eat and drink and explore, and even when we were making our way back to the hotel much inebriated, we could hear music coming from a bar and stepped inside, that was two in the morning...... five in the morning we crawled off to our beds. At eight, we were up anticipating a morning of sightseeing only to find there was torrential rain, but Ray wasn't daunted. Immediately, he was on the phone to a tour bus company and we were dressed, breakfasted and waiting at the door at nine for a whistle-stop tour. Mid-afternoon, we were back on the road to Montreal. With Ray, sleep was something you did when you went home!!
How can I forget the magical stay on the lakes north of Montreal (where was that?) for Jack's 50th birthday, kayaking at midnight, sitting in the garden with blankets around us, watching the Northern Lights.
He was also very much a family man. He loved his family. He was very proud of his daughters, Pat's daughters, his son and grandchildren.
Ray never wasted a minute of his life. I thank him for allowing me to share some of them. I will remember him with much love and affection.
My heart goes out to Pat and all his family.
Lizzie
