THE GRANVILLE PARKERS - EPITAPH

Not long before Christmas 2021 I heard the sad news that my longest-standing friend, Roy South, had passed away on 29^th November 2021 having only that month achieved the age of 75. 

We had been friends since 1955, when both our families were moved into a small new block of flats in Granville Park Lewisham, SE London, which were built on one of the many WW2 bomb sites in that heavily bombed area, on the site of 4 large early Victorian houses.  You may have read my items on Granville Park and its inhabitants on my ABCtales page.

There were many children in these flats, so plenty of friends for us, many of whom kept in touch into adulthood.  Roy was a special friend; my parents were very fond of him and he was in and out of our flat during our younger years, discovering rock n roll, records and live stage shows together which fed our mutual lifelong love of modern music.  In fact, after a memorable visit to watch The Young Ones at the local fleapit, Roy bought me the LP which I still have today – as well as a lifelong love of Cliff and the Shads!

Our friendship remained strong through teen years; in fact it was Roy who, having abandoned the mod scooter of which he was very proud, drove me and my family to the airport for my first college job in Milan in 1969.

Not long after that we both married; Roy’s marriage to Dee was a long one and they celebrated their Golden wedding 2 years ago with their lovely daughters and granddaughters. Mine was not so successful but I was second time lucky!

Sadly Roy eventually became disabled with Beckers, a form of Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy, which had been diagnosed when a young man, and eventually forced him to give up his beloved job as a London, then Cambridgeshire, bus/coach driver.  But cheerful as ever, he carried on with his hobbies as long as he could, fishing being one of them.  He was a keen ‘scooter’ user and persisted despite many falls.  And his life was definitely enriched by his ‘pooter’which  by use of the internet enabled him to keep in contact with friends old and new; and knowing he had a brain up there I persuaded him to join ABCtales, which he enjoyed immensely. He was very supportive of my writing too.  The late lamented writer Denzella (Moya) became one of his on-line chums.

If you haven’t, take a look at his page.  His stories are full of wit, honesty, warmth and humour, as was he.

Rest in Peace me old mate.  God Bless THE ROYSTER.