When I first met Nick, it was in grey Fife in the mid-seventies, we were both working for Marconi but would also meet up at folk clubs because we both played instruments, concertina in his case, guitar in mine. As time progressed, we worked together on projects, including one major one where we both travelled to the South every week for about two months. We got to know each other, I met Terry for the first time, and saw a happier Nick.

Not long afterwards when his first marriage ended, he stayed with us for a month or so while he had nowhere to stay just before moving on to his new job in Towcester. Fife had never been his cup of tea. We had some spiritual ideas at the time which Nick came to share. When we gave those ideas up, as he also did after some time, I wondered if we had done him a disservice. Who knows? His path took him on a journey that many don’t have the good fortune to enjoy. His marriage to Terry was one of rare closeness and genuine affection.

Our paths separated in the late seventies when we went to France, he to the US. In the late nineties, we got a Christmas card sent to my mother’s address and got back in contact. I was spending a bit of time in the US then, and would get in a visit to Pear Lane once every year or so. The circle of friends was wonderful, Nick always made sure he got the work-life balance well weighted in favour of life. Seeing him and Thomas so well bonded and sharing everything from dancing to trance, showed how your children can be brought up best.

Many people walk through life. In every sense, Nick danced through it. For me, his legacy will be that lesson: cherish every moment, bring quality to it and make it memorable.

Safe journey, Nick.

Rory