To my dear brother Alan He was someone I always looked up to and sometimes down to as he would make me take the top bunk. He was a strong person and would do his best to get his own way whilst always being very kind natured to those he cared about. One of the first memories I had of him was him dismantling his cot. That was the start of his curiosity and love of building making and at times destructing things. This came out in the early go-carts in North London, then in model aircraft which we saw often heading off into the sunset on our many visits to our Great Uncle in the Mendip hills when we lived in the West country. Later motor bikes in Farnham at Tony West at age 14 & then RockerBox where Alan made some great friends he has kept till this day. He used to frighten dad and mum especially with the bikes and his lesser enthusiasm for school work. Some disagreements with dad followed with Alan being chased out of home on a few occasions. They shared the same birthday and although apparently wildly different in character they both shared great loyalty and a sense of right and wrong. Alan particularly had a challenging approach to life and would have strong views and tackle others on it. He was a physical and heart felt character and went often head first into things including a few walls on his motorbike. He would always get up without more than a scratch or sore head or back. Alan's other great love was music and he built turntables from scratch and also bashed at the drums both of which he played at gigs with a band. He later moved to London and after working for a firm doing property searches he branched out on his own and amassed 8 people working for him that allowed him to buy a flat in Belsize park. During this time he made many new friends around the area particularly involved in electronic music and also from those who stayed at his flat. He enjoyed many parties in and around London and at gigs and festivals around the country. He also had a wonderful dog called Sasha who used to trudge the streets of London getting searches, often well known to the council workers, she had a spirit and mischevious nature not unlike Alan. He got an old ambulance and would take this to festivals with sometimes up to 20 people able to shelter in the back. Often cars would let him out, a very handy thing when driving in London, thinking it was a genuine working ambulance. He was always very loyal and a great friend to many people, willing to help and generally not wanting recompense just to know that it had helped or made some difference to them and that there was some fun in it. He went abroad several times to South Africa where he worked with Paul and got on very well with his family, while travelling doing the sound for several big bands. He also went to Canada and stayed in some huts on the hillside seeking golden prospects. On return he went back to the family home and helped mum with the tearoom as he had previously put so much work into building it up. He even turned his hand to some baking and his cakes were well appreciated / eaten. Whilst his interest and almost obsession was now with Trading he still maintained his interest in building electronic music instruments and designed an electronic drum machine and worked on amps and speakers. He started to play a fair bit of piano following Bach’s Goldberg variations which he loved. It was a very big shock when I heard of his illness, he had mentioned some pain - chest and then stomach - in the last year but like Alan he did not make a lot of these things. A friend of his said how he had once fixed a broken tooth with super glue. However this was the real thing. He took the news with great dignity and true to Alan's nature he was investigating and taking a new and challenging approach to the fight. We were heart felt hoping he could battle against the odds having been given none by the hospital. Sadly they were right and he/we lost. Not the end we hope. Alan wished to go to sea when he could afford the boat he needed to sail off around the world. Bon Voyage Alan.