As many of you who knew dad, following his last stroke he suffered from Aphasia, a communication disability which occurs when the communication centres of the brain are damaged. This meant that dad increasingly had problems getting his words out and found working with numbers challenging. A very cruel and frustrating condition, especially for someone as proud as dad.

Dad battled very hard to overcome Aphasia, teaching himself to talk again after he completely lost his speech after the 3rd stroke eight years ago. He was part of an Aphasia choir in Bristol, for some reason singing came very easy to dad when speaking didn't.

Being the practical man that he was, dad wouldn't have wanted anyone to waste any money on flowers, and we think he would really have liked people to instead make donations to Say Aphasia, a small local charity which runs a drop-in group in Hove which dad attended. The weekly group provides an invaluable place to meet others who are experiencing a similar life change and gives you support on how to adapt to the new way of life, amongst people who can relate to you. We know dad was appreciative of this support.

Aphasia sadly hasn't had much press coverage until just recently when Bruce Willis came out as suffering from the condition. The fact that this condition is rarely heard of contributes to the loneliness that aphasia sufferers experience so if you would like to donate to Say Aphasia in memory of dad so that they can continue offering the amazing support they do we would be very touched.

Irene, Tam and Tasha would like to thank you for any donations you make instead of flowers.

Natasha Orrow