I remember the awesome Xmases. We started spending our Christmases at Nick and Floss’s when they bought the big house. And what great hosts they were. Always such great fun - music, dancing, games, amazing food and of course impossibly good wine. I would always try to convince my sister to watch movies all night and Nick was totally cool with that, he made us feel like he was one of us.

Unsurprisingly, wine features strongly in one of my early memories of Nick. :) It was a few years after I moved back to Cambridge, I must have been 19 or 20, so maybe 1993. It was an informal wine tasting evening with friends and Nick and Floss invited me to join. I was a budding connoisseur in those days, having done the ‘vendanges’ in Bordeaux a couple of years earlier. I was keen to exercise my skills and happily accepted. It was a great evening - Nick had everything arranged in a professional manner and we had to guess which were the more or less expensive wines and I’m pretty sure I got it wrong! I stayed the night and I remember thinking just how young and cool Nick was and that I was lucky to have such a hip uncle.

Not long after that, I started a Web development business - it was the beginning of the Internet. Yep, that long ago! I can’t quite remember the circumstances - things were starting to take off but for some reason we had a cash flow issue and needed a loan. I couldn’t find any friends to stump up the cash, so I tried the family card - I was almost out of luck when Vevie suggested I ask Nick. A little reluctantly, I gave him a call, explained the situation and within 15 minutes had secured a £6,000 loan - that boosted him even further in my esteem, he was emanating cool at this point. :) I remember feeling that he was really supportive of my enterprising aspirations and was happy to help - he had my back. Oh, and yes, I did repay every penny plus interest if you’re wondering!

Fast forward to 2009. Julie was getting married and we all headed to Montreal for the wedding. We didn’t have suitable suits for the occasion, so us guys all rented them for the big event. The measurements had been sent off a few weeks before and when they arrived, I assumed everything was in order and didn’t bother to try mine on.. until the wedding day.. oh horror.. when I put the suit trousers on they came up just below my knees!! The suit trousers were for boys!! I had probably just sent them my waist measurement, which was so small, they figured I was a kid! When I emerged sheepishly from my room looking like a very smart pixie, Nick erupted into uncontrollable laughter. I looked totally ridiculous. He laughed and laughed and laughed, conjuring images of the chief usher / pixie welcoming guests in.. For me this was no laughing matter, what was I going to do? We were on a tight schedule and had to be there in a couple of hours - I’d never be able to find another pair of trousers in time.. visions of being the laughing stock at my sister’s wedding started to overwhelm me.. While I started to panic, Nick’s mirth turned to action and to my great surprise he promptly took his trousers off and handed them to me - “they’ll be a bit big but you should be ok with a belt”. Huh? I stared at him blankly, “but what are you going to wear?” Nick winked, “I’ve got a pair of black jeans here, no-one will know any better.” And that’s how Nick saved the day at my sister’s wedding. :)

We love you Nick, you’ll forever be my coolest uncle.