I met Michael in August 1993 at a Prom concert which was the start of a loving relationship and subsequently a close platonic friendship. He became my soul mate, loving, protective, caring, kind, patient and generous. Not only was he like this to me but to everyone in his life. I enjoyed the banter between us because of his wicked sense of humour delivered with a characteristic twinkle in the eye, beautifully captured in the portrait of him. Happy memories are in abundance because being with him I felt happy and safe. Having had a controlling and judgemental upbringing, it was at first strange to be with someone the total opposite. But over the years he helped me to become a happier and better person than I was before. Our mutual passion for music meant going to many memorable concerts, particularly the Proms. Sleeping out for the Last Night in the cold under the awning of the Albert Hall was a fun experience. We had wonderful holidays, the most memorable being to Sicily, our times in Morocco and what turned out to be our last holiday in Amsterdam last year. He had good old fashioned courtesies letting you in and out of doorways first and up escalators. A number of times I would leave a shop and turn to go back the way we came. He would patiently wait with a big grin and a twinkle in the eye until I discovered he was not with me. Sense of direction is not one of my strong points. The last ten years or so we went to so many exciting ballet performances and he was passionate about the work of the Royal Ballet School. Characteristically he would be sure to please not only me but also friends and family in organising bookings for the Royal Ballet without leaving anyone out, even if it meant going more than once for a production. It was a major task and never a word of complaint came from him. He was an inventive cook with an eye for new combinations and table presentation and was ever the affable host. His strong and firm political views induced lively and interesting debates, particularly about Thatcher and the European Union, wearing the EU badge. A friend of ours summed him up very well as being kind, charismatic and interesting. When I told our ballet friends about his passing, each one described him as a lovely man. That is what he was and he will be missed very much.
I met Michael in August 1993 at a Prom concert which was the start of a loving relationship and subsequently a close platonic friendship. He became my soul mate, loving, protective, caring, kind, patient and generous. Not only was he like this to me but to everyone in his life. I enjoyed the banter between us because of his wicked sense of humour delivered with a characteristic twinkle in the eye, beautifully captured in the portrait of him. Happy memories are in abundance because being with him I felt happy and safe. Having had a controlling and judgemental upbringing, it was at first strange to be with someone the total opposite. But over the years he helped me to become a happier and better person than I was before. Our mutual passion for music meant going to many memorable concerts, particularly the Proms. Sleeping out for the Last Night in the cold under the awning of the Albert Hall was a fun experience. We had wonderful holidays, the most memorable being to Sicily, our times in Morocco and what turned out to be our last holiday in Amsterdam last year. He had good old fashioned courtesies letting you in and out of doorways first and up escalators. A number of times I would leave a shop and turn to go back the way we came. He would patiently wait with a big grin and a twinkle in the eye until I discovered he was not with me. Sense of direction is not one of my strong points. The last ten years or so we went to so many exciting ballet performances and he was passionate about the work of the Royal Ballet School. Characteristically he would be sure to please not only me but also friends and family in organising bookings for the Royal Ballet without leaving anyone out, even if it meant going more than once for a production. It was a major task and never a word of complaint came from him. He was an inventive cook with an eye for new combinations and table presentation and was ever the affable host. His strong and firm political views induced lively and interesting debates, particularly about Thatcher and the European Union, wearing the EU badge. A friend of ours summed him up very well as being kind, charismatic and interesting. When I told our ballet friends about his passing, each one described him as a lovely man. That is what he was and he will be missed very much.
