When I started to think about what to write about Darren’s life I looked at the date carefully and found myself wondering what else happened on that day so I began to search. Darren’s birth date was Tuesday 2nd August 1983. In fact very little happened on that day so my mind began to wander again and then, it dawned on me….. I was really missing the point. Darren had been born and that is significant all on its own. Claire’s little man had come along 6 days late (sort of typical Darren) with his big blue eyes, bright blonde hair and cheeky smile. The scene was set. He grew rapidly and developed into a healthy happy little boy and very soon found his own two feet when it came to playing out with his friends. “Friends” is a word that keeps re-occurring when we talk about him in normal daily conversation. Even at a young age he attached great importance to friendship, and this followed him right the way through his life. He was a bright boy and had an infectious smile that always got him what he wanted in the end. Even if he was told off for anything he never took it to heart or dwelt on it. Always planning the next adventure, he would go off exploring down along the seafront or at the harbour and often came in at the end of the day just as his dinner was being dished up. It was a bit like he had radar for food! Darren’s Grandmother Ivy, who was hugely instrumental in his life, sadly died in 1990 following illness and this was to have a lasting effect on him. Ivy had spent many, many hours looking after both Darren and Katherine while Claire was at work, so Ivy played an enormous part in the Darren’s upbringing and he loved her, and loved being with her. He was a highly popular kid amongst his friends and at all of the schools he attended. Like most other kids of school age he didn’t much like the “boring stuff” like Maths and English, but he seemed to enjoy Geography, History and anything to do with woodworking or metalwork. He has been described by one of his former teachers as a “lovable rogue”. Claire, myself, and anyone else that knew him would certainly agree with that. He and his Sister Katherine would be at loggerheads quite often but aside from this Darren would always take care of his little sister at play or in school taking his role as her big brother seriously. Claire divorced in1992, but Katherine and Darren have always been very resilient and quickly adjusted to the new way of things. We moved to Cornwall in 1996 to make a fresh start and Darren immediately thrived there making far better academic progress in Tretherras School Newquay. Always making more new friends along the way. He loved the beaches and the atmosphere there and no doubt hundreds of new girls in a new town also made life much more appealing to him. He was hardly ever at home but when he did finally re-appear he always seemed to be dressed in someone else’s clothes. This will come as no surprise to his friends. I am sure that you all still have shirts, tee shirts and jeans you have never seen again thanks to Darren. I lost count of the times Claire would say while she was tidying or doing the washing, “Darren… who does this tee shirt belong to?” Our stay Near Newquay was relatively short lived and after only two years we returned to Eastbourne. It wasn’t long before Darren settled back into things. It was a bit like he had never been away and his friends were all pleased to welcome him back into their world. At Hampden Park school he continued making yet more friends until he finally left to go into the big wide world of work and adulthood. He had many jobs along the way but he would agree with me that none of them really made him very happy until later in his life. He developed his love of music, dance, DJ’ing, travelling around and hanging with his mates and at this point, his life seemed to enter a new phase in which he grew into the young man that we are now all familiar with. Always going off for the weekend here there and everywhere but never forgetting to stay in touch with Claire. He had bond with Claire that was unbreakable and Darren being Darren, would often phone at inhuman hours of the night to come and collect him or asking for advice. He loved his food and frequent phone calls asking how to cook this and that were the norm. He had such a happy knack of knowing how to wrap Claire around his little finger. Personally I am glad that Claire spoilt him like that, She was his anchor in life since Ivy had died and would always be there not only to give advice, but also to give good reason for everything that she told him. He didn’t always take good advice, but he was the first to admit openly that he wishes he had listened in the first place if things didn’t work out well. Another event that had a huge effect on Darren was when 5 of his friends were involved in a truly serious accident on the clifftop near St Bedes school one weekday afternoon in the summer of 2000. They were all seriously injured and needless to say Darren was distraught. He spent many hours waiting at the hospital for any snippet of news of his mates and just wanted to be with them all. This typifies what was at the very core of his soul, his friends always came first! In the latter part of his young life Darren began to find work that suited him better, none more than when he was doing employment agency work. He seemed much more at ease and genuinely enjoyed the work and the new challenges. As you all know, Darren’s life ended suddenly. Questions that we live with still remain unanswered, and are often a source of lengthy debate, but we always come back to the same question. WHY? We have both lost people around us before but Darren’s loss has been quite something else. Claire is in the most unenviable position of being a mother that has lost a child, and not only a child, her firstborn. Her deep sense of loss is different to mine and difficult for me to comprehend, but I do know that Darren was a very special person to very many people and the void that has been left behind has touched us all. It will soon be a year since Darren died and we are both sure that you will all have endured your own feelings of loss, sadness and emptiness. Darren’s memory will live on with you all, and knowing his friends as we have come to, we know he was loved by you all and we know he will never be forgotten by you. We are both grateful beyond words that he had such loyal friends to spend his days (and long…long nights) with. You gave his life purpose. He left this place leaving his mark forever.