Teaching

His daughters never quite forgave him for coming home to North Wales, and denying them a life in Trinidad, but that's what he did - to be a Geography/Geology teacher in Grove Park, then Elfed High.

Staff room tales:

• he would sneak out of lessons for a fag
• he fell asleep in one lesson and was woken up by a student, as they left
• he avoided saying 'shale and grit' for obvious reasons
• he cuffed a pupil called Woodcock, and said 'Blimey it should have been Woodhead, not .....'
• he went on a staff curry night where one teacher had been excluded, and all was revealed the next morning when she was the only one not reeking of beer and curry.

A past student came to his memorial, and said that Dad was an inspirational teacher, and that his lessons had decided his career path.

Cooking

It started as an evening class given by a colleague at school, and who knew he would end up with a repertoire including:

• Pasta with olives
• Prawns and courgettes
• Jambalaya
• Turkey something or other
• Oeuf Cressy
• Beef and green peppers in black bean sauce
• Salad with Welsh Dressing (vinegar and pepper)

Golf

A source of great frustration, it's rumoured he once hit a double-decker bus in Liverpool.

We need Llew to spill the beans on this and many other stories.

Music

Dad liked Mahler, Edith Piaf and The Pasadena Roof Orchestra, so you can see he had poor taste in many ways. But he also liked Ian Dury so it wasn't all bad - not sure if it was the songs or the titles that appealed to him most (New Boots and Panties, Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick being ones he particularly laughed at).

At his funeral we played Mahler's Adagietto, which was a love song to his wife, which seemed appropriate. You can hear it here.

He and Mum met at a Swansea University dance, where trad jazz star Acker Bilk was on the playlist, and mohair cardigans were de riguer. He swooped down on her for the last dance, after his friend Charlie Suff had done all the hard work.

He never really 'got' pop music, at least not from the 1970s onwards, but was pleased young David enjoyed being in a band.