Frank was born on the 28th September 1942 in Fulham, London. He was one of twins; unfortunately, his sibling did not survive the birth. Initially he was brought up by his Mum who was called Rene, in spite of being christened ‘Poppy’. Frank did not know his natural Father, as his Dad left the family home when Frank was a very small child; Frank had a brother called Terry and a half - sister named Valerie, both of whom were very artistic people [in fact, most of his family were artistic]. Valerie was a painter and Terry was a musician who played the guitar; Terry also went on to invent ‘Hot Pants’ [of the leather variety]. As a child, Frank was always in bother and got up to all sorts of pranks. On one occasion, seeing the chocolate jar on the top shelf of the Welsh dresser, he scaled up the front of the unit, shelf by shelf, until his weight caused the whole crockery filled piece of furniture to crash to the ground. He also spent some time in a monastry, set in the idyllic Hertfordshire countryside. The monks cared for him during a difficult period at home and Frank told Christine that if he had stayed there he would have received a wonderful education. There was to be a new man in Frank’s life. His Step-dad was called Ernie King and Frank treated Ernie like his real Dad.. a proper Dad. Ernie proved to be a bit of a ‘Del Boy’ and dabbled in this and that. During his youth Frank would act as the lookout and would whistle when trouble approached; all in all, Frank had a very colourful start to his life in London meeting lots of people and developing many life-long friendships. To his many City friends, Frank would have been known as a real ‘diamond geezer’. After leaving school, Frank worked as a painter/decorator, learning his trade and serving an apprenticeship in the profession. He went on to do several other jobs during his lifetime, including, working for a number of years as a chauffer to film director Lewis Gilbert [of ‘Educating Rita’] fame. Frank was known for his ability, [no matter what the difficult circumstances were], to get his boss to the front door of the venue. He also served as a ‘Minder’ for musicians like Joe Cocker and Pink Floyd during the 60’s. Obviously, his boxing and bodybuilding training as a young person helped in this area. Frank also had the opportunity given to him to appear as an extra in ‘James Bond’ movies. As a youngster, Frank’s dearest wish was to grow up to be a ‘Big Guy’….. he got his wish…. but he was more than just a big guy, as many of you here today would know… He had a big heart and would always fight on the side of the underdog. Frank had two children from his previous marriage; a Son called Bobby and a Daughter called Denny. Sadly, Denny died recently from the same illness as Frank, and her funeral service is being held in the U.K tomorrow; this awful situation has prevented many of Frank’s friends being with us here today. But what about Christine and her Frankie’s life together? They met because of a friendship that developed between Christine and Frank’s Mum. Christine was working for Thompson holidays as a rep in Benidorm and Rene would visit the resort several times a year. Rene said to Christine ‘I’ve got two son’s – but you would love my Frank’. While in London a little later, Christine had planned to spend a couple of days with Frank’s Mum. When she arrived at the house, there was Frank, decorating his Mum’s kitchen. It was love at first sight. Christine told me that Frank swept her off her feet. Six years later, on the 22nd April 1989, Frank and Christine tied the knot at Fulham Registry Office; this year was their 21st wedding anniversary. Rene always joked that she picked Frank out for Christine. Frank worked in Kuwait after the war with the Sudan, helping the rebuilding programme; it meant them being apart for a period of time, however, it enabled them to finance to purchase of their home in Cambridge, where they spent eleven happy years, before moving to Spain. What did Frank love [apart from Christine]. He loved fish and seafood, he was very fond of Jack Daniels. He loved snooker and fishing and everything to do with his favourite football team, which had to be… Fulham!, following their progress even from Spain. Frank was always the life and soul of the party and used to go the whole hog at fancy dress nights, appearing fully resplendent in his full suit of armour on occasions. Frank loved music, especially Jazz and so enjoyed bands like Led Zepplin and Pink Floyd. Frank used to sign letters and cards F.F.F.F, which I understand was short for ‘Fat Frank From Fulham. One of his sayings during hard and difficult times in their lives was ‘Just Passing Through’. I believe this is a brilliant saying…. It means that better times are still to come and we don’t have to stay where it is painful. Frank and Christine moved to Spain nearly six years ago; Frank was already suffering with poor health before they moved here and certainly the Spanish sunshine brought some relief to Frank’s arthritis. They loved their coffees at Bar El Duende, on the Paseo in the Port, where Frank could enjoy the sea air and their conversations. Christine tells me that she was always the one with her feet planted firmly on the ground, as just as Frank swept her off her feet that day at his mum’s house, all those years ago, Frank continued to be the one who taught her how to fly. Frank was always the encourager and the one who inspired confidence… to go for it….. whatever the challenge. A man with a big heart – A man who would do anything for anyone - Frank , you will be so missed, by so many people, by so many good friends – by your Sister in Law, June, Brother in Law, Derek, Nephew, Oliver and by your Christine….. The girl you taught to fly. Signing out on behalf of F.F.F.F.F.F . Fat Frank From Fulham Flying Free God bless you Frank