I wanted to write a little about Ian and I, then suddenly realised I could just put up my speech that I wrote for his funeral. It is sketchy but tells a little of our story together…………………………………..
I first met Ian nearly 14 years ago on a blind date. Mutual friends had swapped our phone numbers and we had been texting and talking on the phone for a couple of weeks. One of his first emails to me when he was describing himself he wrote……..
“I was Born – 1982 but the birth certificate says 1961 but you know
how inept those government people can be”
That was his humour!
Our First date was Sunday lunch. Ian turned up at my house at midday, dressed in horrible brown corduroy trousers and a flick over hair style, trying to hide his thining spots….He told me later on that he had gone out shopping just for the event but had no clue what to buy!! On first impressions I wasn’t too impressed. Nor was he, as I had been nervous and was fairly drunk at midday. However, both undeterred, off to lunch we went . That first date lasted for over 12 hours. Ians infectious personality was working its magic.
The brown corduroy trousers were never to be seen again, nor the flick over . We joked we were smitten with each other very early on in the relationship and within a few months Ian with his two children, then aged 6 and 10, moved in with me and my 3 older children and we became a family unit of 7.
One story that Ian loved to tell was how he proposed to me…. ……..early one morning he went downstairs to bring up a cup of tea for me in bed. Naked, he leant over the bed and said…………will you marry me………and produced a ring……….now there was no pockets to hide this ring in, so from where he produced it from, I can only imagine, but he loved to tell that story. Romance was definitely not his forteit!
We moved out to Dubai nearly 9 years ago when Ian took over a family business and developed it, alongside his partner, to one of the best Oil and Gas rig manufacturers in the middle east. We had a wonderful life there, making new friends and experiencing lots of adventures. We travelled the world together. We played golf together. We laughed a lot. Made great friends and Drank a fair bit on the way too.
Ian was a great dad to our five children –and a wonderful grandad to two beautiful little girls. Forever patient. Forever a friend. Always generous. And full of advice…………sometimes even useful advice!!! Ian was a great provider to his family, and he was proud of us all.
Ian often joked he came right down the pecking order for my love………..Leicester City, Children, cats and dogs, then him.
Leicester City was and always will be a big part of my life . Ian embraced my love for the club and although he was a Bradford lad he quickly adopted the foxes as his team . His passion for me led him into having passion for my club too. I was the one that travelled back and forth from the UAE to get to the games whilst Ian earned the money to allow me to do this, but Ian would also be listening or watching across the waters and text me throughout the games, and would always come along when he was in the UK and insisted he had his own Season Ticket. He nearly became as knowledgeable as myself about my beloved team and could hold his own with any of our fans in a footie conversation.
Liverpool had always been my favorite away ground. I would always take flowers and a scarf for the Hillsborough memorial there. I also worked in Liverpool City for a few years and Have good friends and happy memories there. So for Ian to leave me in a place that was already special to me , was, in some ways meant to be. I have been cushioned by such amazing support from both Leicester and Liverpool fans. And whereas, it does not take the pain away, it is good to know that support is there keeping me upright. Liverpool will always hold a special place in my heart now.
Ian should not have died. He should not have gone so soon. But even the events of his death he ensured that I was looked after. .
. Ian was so many many things to many many people………..everyone loved ian. ……….…………….he was kind. He was generous, He was Witty, He was Funny, He was intelligent. He was hard working. He was loyal. He was loving. He was bloody sexy and he was mine.
wiltingwidow 