My Tribute to my brother 8th August 2019. “The Entertainer” As a child, if you are fortunate enough to have them, your first friends are your brothers and sisters. I was lucky enough to have 2 brothers and they really were my best friends. We’d play together, fight, laugh and cry together, drive our parents mad together and when we could get away with it get into as much mischief as we could together, usually with our cousins - don’t tell mum! Simon was best friend to me and Paul and from day 1 he was "the entertainer" - he loved nothing more than making us smile, laugh and just be happy. He had a knack for it too, he was bloody funny! He would go to great lengths, frequently too far to entertain us including crazy stunts, dangerous adventures and generally just things we really shouldn’t have really been doing. This continued throughout his life where he has entertained us all with his quick wit, humour and messing around. Simon could fill a room as soon as he arrived, he was about 6’7 in height but 10 foot in presence! He’d have everyone in stitches, make the saddest occasion lighter and really help people who were in need of a laugh - he wanted to make people feel better and be happy, that is who he was and I was lucky to have him as a brother. Simon played quite a range of characters in his pursuit of entertainment including crazy ass biker, comedian, gangster, rally car driver, Del Boy, a CIS investigator, a genius doctor called House, Captain Jack Sparrow and when we worked together at Rock City, I was suddenly thrust into the supporting role of one of the Mitchell brothers from Eastenders - we certainly had a lot of fun there! Of late, he even did some dancing!! Although he had this full time role as entertainer he always had plenty of time for other people and their troubles, despite having plenty of his own. Simon was always there for me and I am sure for some of you whenever you may have needed him, and even at times when we didn’t realise we needed it . I have heard so many people tell me how he has helped them with either his company, support, kind words but consistently a shed load of laughs! This was Simon, the entertainer, the joker, the biggest presence in the room, the helper, the carer, best friend and guide when you needed him, my brother. Love you. X