Our father’s greatest achievement was his family.
 
He was extremely proud of the three of us and was a loving, caring and supportive father, strict and bossy too! He was also embarrassing, but most parents are, aren’t they?!
 
He was also our mentor and teacher.
 
Papa taught us all to drive. We were each taken into one of the small country lanes at our grandparents in France, told to remove our shoes and socks and then instructed to ‘feel the pedals’ which cracked us up. He was very patient and didn’t get angry, even when we crashed his car! He was still pretty patient when he helped Nathalie re-learn to drive last year!
 
When it came to driving, Papa was quite old-fashioned – in our eyes anyway – as he always consulted a map. There were countless exchanges between him and Nick over maps vs Satnav! Papa loved his maps and that could be the reason why he developed an inbuilt radar. He’d only need to drive to a place once to remember the route back.
 
When we think of our father, we think of his love of colour. To our embarrassment and to Maman’s horror, he would often match his socks to his shirt! He wouldn’t think twice about wearing pink shirts with bright pink socks and yellow shirts with vivid yellow socks! Papa certainly had a unique sense of style! We finally understood where it came from when he took us to his favourite street in London, Jermyn Street, and we saw the window displays in the men’s clothing shops.
 
It wasn’t just his dress sense which was embarrassing. We’re thinking here of his dad dance moves! Papa was always full of energy and that certainly came through on the dancefloor. He loved to dance. If you want to know what his moves look like, Greg can do a pretty good impersonation!
 
He was incredibly generous with his time. We’ve lost track of the number of times he helped us all move, not only in the UK but across France and to Brussels! Even a move to Paris on New Year’s Day didn’t faze him. Despite struggling to find van hire he and Maman finally arrived in Paris with a load of furniture in a van with ‘Rent A Wreck’ sprawled on the side in big letters!
 
Giving his time and energy was second nature to Papa and that attitude extended to his community and neighbourhood. It’s one of the reasons he was so well loved. 
 
He had a strong sense of community and cared about his neighbourhood. He would always be there to offer help and gave a warm welcome to new neighbours.
 
As Mandy said, Papa was a great host and entertainer. As you all know, our house was always full of family and friends plus all the random people that Papa would pick up and bring home. And more often than not they would leave with some home produce like a pot of jam or marmalade and/or vegetables from the garden. There has never been a dull moment in the Ewing household and thanks to Papa and Maman we have always had a special place to call home.
 
And the house became even busier when Papa became a grandfather. He was incredibly proud of his four gorgeous grandchildren and was always hands on with them. He introduced them to rock climbing and crabbing, took them on day trips, cheered on Georgia and Jacob at gymnastics and football and thought nothing of popping over to France for the day to pick up Ella and Eliott and bring them back for the summer holidays. 
 
In our eyes, Papa was also the big adventurer. 
 
As kids we didn’t fully understand the enormity of what Papa experienced during his 4 years of travel. But the older we got, the more in awe we were of his incredible adventures.
 
Papa was just 19 when he left England with his friend John, Wendy’s brother. They landed in Cyprus in March 1963 where he worked at a radio station and taught English. He went on to Lebanon where he sold blood for money. He visited Jerusalem and arrived in Bagdad for the 1963 revolution. This was followed by a 6 month stint in Tehran where he worked for an international newspaper. He was the personal guest of the Shah in Bahrain and also visited Kuwait, Jordan and Syria. Leaving the Middle and Far East he crossed to Africa where he got chased by hippos at the Victoria Falls, was almost arrested in Somalia for wearing an Arab Hat and lived in South Africa during the apartheid. From Cape Town he boarded a ship for South America visiting Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Boliva and Peru. He then embarked on his biggest adventure, crossing the Darien Gap on foot - the narrow stretch between Colombia and Panama.
 
If you google ‘Can you cross the Darien Gap on foot?’, this is the response you’ll get:
“Yes you can, but there are a whole lot of reasons to avoid it. The Darien Gap has not been called the most dangerous place in the Western Hemisphere for nothing.”
 
Papa and his South African travel companion got completely lost without food for 2 weeks in this dense, hostile jungle. It was an adventure that Papa never forgot. 
 
He then went on to spend an unforgettable 3 months living with the Choco Indians in the jungle in Panama – apparently, he was the first white person to do so. He learnt how they lived, befriended the witch doctor, observed their traditions and came home with all sorts of memorabilia which you’ll see displayed at the wake.
 
His travels had a big impact on his life and the 3 of us now proudly talk about his adventures with family and friends.
 
Papa never lost his sense of adventure and at age 70 he surprised by announcing he wanted to try paragliding. So paraglide he did!
 
He also channelled his adventurous spirit into his fundraising.
 
I’m sure you’ll all agree that Papa was a natural born fundraiser. From co-founding the Hayling Island Save the Children Committee back in the 80s to organising his famous bi-annual barn dances. We have an in-joke about the ‘last’ barn dance! Many years ago, Papa announced it was going to be his last one so Nick made a speech thanking Papa for organising these fantastic evenings. To his embarrassment, Papa went on to organise another ‘last’ one, and another, and another!! You have to admit though, they were always a great night bringing together the old and the young and raising heaps of money over the years for charity.
 
He introduced all 3 of us to fundraising and as kids we would go collecting with him on Northwood and Castleman’s Lane. When Greg broke his arm aged 8, Papa convinced him to get people to sign his cast and donate to charity. The story made the local paper.
 
Always one for a challenge, he took part in the Paris to Hayling sponsored bike ride and even abseiled down the Spinnaker Tower, all in the name of charity.
 
As soon as he found out he had to have brain surgery he turned it into a positive by organising his great head shave. He raised over £1000 just 24hrs after launching his fundraising page – something he delighted in telling the nurses and doctors.
 
 
His travel and fundraising adventures are testament to his zest for life. And he never lost this enthusiasm, even when diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour. He amazed and inspired us with his determination, strength and positive attitude and he didn’t complain once. 
 
Even the wonderful Rowans Hospice at Home nurses commented on this with one nurse saying she’d never had such a grateful and smiley patient. 
 
We are extremely grateful to Maman for taking such good care of him till the end. As Maman so rightly put it, Papa died as he lived, with dignity and courage.
 
And in his words ‘we’re going to love you and leave you now’, and he would probably add ‘keep smiling’!