BIG CARP APRIL 2026 RICHARD - Flipbook - Page 157
Carp CHAT
Chat
CARP
Eye, the biggest in the land a t th a t ti me b u t , s h o rt ly b e fo re , h e
h a d been running across t he o u t o f b o u n d s wo o d s a t S o nn i n g ,
c h asing Storm Dog with a b i g s t i ck fo r s t ray i n g u p to my b iv vy
fo r a cuddle and a biscui t , a ga i n .
I was rolling around laugh i n g an d Sto r m t h o u gh t i t wa s a l l a
b i g game.
Every day with CP was an a dve n tu re , I h ave a mi l l i o n s to ri e s
o f him, a character so mu c h l a rg e r th a n l i fe t h at o n ly t h o s e
l u cky enough to have know n h i m c o u l d eve r, eve n s t art to
u n derstand.
CP, for all his shenanigan s an d d o d g y de a li n g s , h a d t h e m o s t
a mazing moral code. Fami ly a n d c l o s e f r i e n d s we re hi s l i fe
a n d he took no prisoners o u t si d e t hi s c i rc le ; yo u we re e i t h e r
a “Good old Boy ” or a “Bad B as t a rd ” t h ere we re n o grey a re a s .
He had an entire language of his own, punctuated by words he
had made up or mis-pronounced and the classic ‘Drismal’ has now
become a standard description of a dull wet day for nearly everyone
I know.
We first met in a grass car p a rk n ex t to Ho r to n a b ou t 3 0 ye a rs
a g o, while queuing for th e s t art o f t he se a s o n t h e fo l l ow i n g
m orning, by midnight we we re f i r m f ri e n ds a n d t h i rty ye a rs
l a ter we were like brother s .
He called me ‘Raver’ from d ay o n e, a n d I wi l l a lways h e ar t h a t
vo ice in my head “kettle o n Rave r ” o r “ Yo u k n ow th e f l avo u r
Raver” if we were in agreem e n t o n o n e o f th e m a ny t h i n g s we
p l anned, plotted or schem ed .
He was, quite literally, o n e o f a k i n d a n d, al s o , o n e o f a n eve rd e creasing breed of good m en t h at kn ow r i gh t f ro m w ro n g a n d
c h oose whichever one is b e st o n th e d ay.
We will miss him dearly.
FR E ELINE 35
