Hi everyone, for those of you I haven’t met, I am Chris’s son Warren. I’d like to firstly thank you all so much for coming all this way on a Monday. And also for the many messages of support that myself, Cheryl and the rest of Dad’s family have received over the last few weeks. Your words are incredibly helpful and deeply appreciated. A final word of thanks for everyone that visited Dad when he was unwell. I know it meant the world to him.

Now I want to tell you a few things about my father and the type of man he was. Firstly, it’s worth noting that he was a man made up of many contradictions. These I am sure helped form him into the unique and wonderful character that we’ve all come here today to celebrate. As a few examples, he’s a proud Yorkshireman, and was always telling me so. But he migrated south at an average rate of 5 counties a decade. He went from Wakefield to London, to Southampton and finally ending up on the beach in Exmouth. Given another 10 years and we’d have all been sat here today in France. He was a hard-nosed salesman and successful suit and tie businessman, but just as comfortable in a tail suit in amongst the sequins and feathers of the Ballroom dancing world.

I’m glad to see so many people wearing bright colours today. My Father was a very colourful character. Indeed his wardrobe, sorry wardrobes were quite a sight to behold. I think he might have taken joseph’s technocolour dream coat and made an individual suit out of each section. He once let my University friends and I raid this suit collection for our first summer ball. There was too much choice for words. There was Orange, Red, Bright Blue, yellow, ones with 8 or 9 zips at odd angles, long ones, short ones, wide ones, ones you turn inside out and more waistcoats than you knew what to do with. I eventually settled on a fine stripy Silver tuxedo.

Dad was a big kid in many ways; nothing illustrates this more than his love of theme parks. He loved a trip to the Pleasure beach in Blackpool and, even when he came to see us in Singapore he couldn’t wait to go to Universal Studios. Dad really loved to laugh and was very skilled at winding people up, in fact growing up, whether it was just the three of us or having friends round, there would always be a shriek of annoyance from anyone would been on the end of some elaborate prank, accompanied by Dad’s distinctive laugh. But without fail everyone in the room would be laughing with him before long. In fact, I don’t think Dad could last more than 10 minutes without making some sort of joke, good or bad. And some of them were pretty bad, Grabbing my stick of rock once when I was in Blackpool and arguing with me for ages that he could turn it into furniture. He broke in into 3 and called it a 3 piece suite…told you they could be bad. His sense of humour was legendary, He loved to take the mick and generally just be very, very silly. And what sums him up was that no matter how bad things got for him towards the end, he didn’t lose that sense of humour and the ability to always see the funny side, even in the darkest times.

My Father was sport mad. I don’t think there was a sport he didn’t follow. His main three loves were Football, Formula 1 and Golf. He was a huge Leeds United fan in the football, but as I was born and raised in Southampton he insisted I support my local team and took up season tickets there without a second thought. I’ve spent many days at the Dell or St Mary’s with my Dad. There was the familiar routine of a burger before the game, grab the programme on the way in, moan about who was left on the bench, A hot chocolate and a Yorkie just before kick off, a couple of pints at half time, sometimes one too many after the game followed by a telling off from my Mother who had been sat in the car for an hour waiting to pick us up. I’ll always remember those days out at the football fondly, and none more than the FA Cup final in Cardiff, where Mum was waiting just a bit longer than an hour… He was also a big Williams F1 fan, and I’m sure that was more than just the free merchandise he got through DuPont. He was a very happy man the day Damon Hill won the world championship and he also managed to sneak me into Silverstone a couple of times as well. In fact if anyone here has ever been in the car when he was behind the wheel, I’m pretty sure he fancied himself as an F1 champion. He just loved proving to the Satnav that he could do the journey at least an hour quicker than the predicted time.

But Golf was his true love and it played a huge part in his life, he played as often as possible and If he could have gotten away with it I think it would have been permanently on the TV. I have very fond memories of playing Golf with my Dad both at his favourite course in Meon Valley and the many rounds we played on holiday and in Spain, many of them with people in this room and of course with his dear Friend Neale who also sadly can’t be with us today. In fact, I think Dad was as at his most content when sat in the Sun with a cold beer in his hands having finished 18 holes with his friends. Some of those friends might not have been quite so content however, as he was a very competitive man with an intimate knowledge of the rulebook of Golf, this could just occasionally bubble over at times. In fact he once came to stay when we lived in Singapore so I arranged for him to Join myself and some work colleagues on a golf trip to Indonesia. Amongst the travellers was my group Managing Director, and even he, amongst others in the group, ended up getting a detailed lecture on the out of bounds rules…But again his generosity always smoothed everything over as he insisted on paying for the meal in the 19th Hole afterwards. All was quickly forgotten.

Dad was a very loving man. As his Son I wanted for nothing, neither did my Mother. And whilst I haven’t been living with them, I’m sure I can safely say the same for Chez, Fletcher, Scarlett and Tyler. He loved to spoil those dearest to him, never was this more obvious than at Christmas where mountains of presents always greeted everyone we spent Christmas with. Indeed spending the day out with Dad always meant you were coming home with some sort of gift. Importantly though he went to great efforts with me to make sure I appreciated what I was given. He always wanted me to know that everything in life had to earned the hard way and that you should always gain some perspective from those less fortunate than you. Once when I was begging him for some sort of toy when I was very young, he turned to me and said “have you got the money for it?” I of course said no to which he replied, “Unfortunately the money tree in the back garden has run out” So I pointed out that if there were money trees, why were we only growing one? I got clip round the ear for that.

Dad’s generosity was not just reserved for his family. Anyone who has been within two meters of him at the right moment has had countless drinks and meals bought for them, he always wanted everyone to be having a good time. Indeed he was a great friend to many people. He was someone you could utterly depend on, nothing was too big a request and he would happily go out of his way to make other people’s lives easier. What I have been blown away by is the sheer volume of messages I have received from people who have known him over the years. It’s clear he made a huge impact on nearly everyone he met and in particular on the people he taught dancing to. He clearly meant much more to he’s pupils than just a dance teacher with so many people commenting on his kindness and countless stories of how he would regularly go above and beyond what was necessary to help them achieve what they wanted to do. I’ve also had messages from people who remember him from my time at school, right from Primary school through University. Such was the size of his character that you didn’t need to meet him for long for a lasting and positive impression to have been made. He was always great with my friends and anyone staying with us or coming on holiday with us felt the full force of his generous spirit and great benevolence.

His kindness, was helped along by a clear stance I saw him take in life. Every single person Dad met was a great person in his eyes until proven otherwise. How many of us just in this room take the other, more cynical stance? It’s very hard not to pre-judge people or be naturally guarded and suspicious when meeting someone new. But how refreshing to have someone who would treat you as a great friend from the word go.

I have spoken a lot about how generous my Father was, and it’s not something to be understated. What I feel is the most remarkable thing about this level of generosity is how hard he worked. He was constantly driving around the country with work both at DuPont and on the dancing side. He would often rush in from work, eat a meal in 3 minutes flat, (the speed at which he could consume food was quite awe-inspiring) and be rapidly changed and ready for an evenings teaching. I know he would sometimes get home at 11:00pm and then be back in his office at home preparing for the next days work. He would also happily travel to a far-flung corner of the UK to a dance competition he wasn’t even judging in, just to support one or two of his couples. His dedication knew no bounds. To be so happy to share the spoils of this hard work with others is a wonderful thing, and I’m so pleased at how it has been recognised by everyone who has contacted me.

Now he wasn’t adverse to spending his money on himself though, I’ve already commented on the fascinating array of suits he owned, but this was backed up by an equally eccentric range of shoes, a pair of which I’m wearing today, and a big collection of jewellery. It calmed down a bit towards the end but he managed to earn the nickname “king of Bling” when I was at school due to the gold chains, bracelets and multiple diamond rings he would wear whilst topping the look off with his favourite coat – a fetching ankle length leather trench coat.

Ultimately, my Father was a man who will be remembered and loved by everyone who met him. He was a loving Husband, Father in law, Brother, Son and favourite Uncle. I for one couldn’t have asked for a better Father, he worked hard to provide me with a very privileged upbringing and I can never thank him enough for everything he did for me. His support for me was un-wavering and I knew that I could always count on him to be there for me.

After that rambling tour of just a small part of this great man’s life, what can we all learn from someone who clearly earned the love and respect of so many. For me there are five main things I’ll hold dear and always try to act on.

1. Work hard for the things you want in life, and then don’t be ashamed to go out get them.

2. Always be kind to everyone you meet – they will remember it.

3. You’re never too old to enjoy Theme parks, go every chance you get.

4.Generosity is one of the best and most defining characteristics a man can have.

And finally: never, ever, lose your sense of humour.

Thank you everyone. And Dad, where ever you are, I hope it involves much wine and a lot of Golf