I spent my secondary school years with Gareth (always Gags to us), have seen him a few times since, the most recent being when Cardiff City played at Wembley, (not many of those), and on the last occasion was fortunate enough to be able to catch up/commiserate with him, in a local bar, of course. I’ve been kept abreast of what Gags has done with his precious life by our mutual Porthcawl friend, Dave. As we experienced first pints, discos and other things Gags was always ‘out there’, seemingly not held back by the reservations that a lot of us carried, fearless, competitive, an enviable way with words which he would always put to good use getting in and out of scrapes and recounting his experiences with a real, open humour. At his best when kicking around views of the world, politics, behaviours - serious but his giggle/chuckle never far away. Still I think in disbelief that he has left us, I’ve been reading through the tributes. I realise I knew little of what he has contributed to so many, in so many different ways. But I’m not surprised. A real humanity and an ability to empathise, and genuinely engage, with such a wide range of people. A real waste to go so early. A real fearless way to go. We only have so long here but I don’t think you can leave a better legacy than one of your children saying ‘we can all aspire to be a bit more like dad’. Another telling comment by his family is his reference to ‘social research’ to describe his love of pubs and the people within. I’d like to think somewhere sometime we’ll meet and catch up again as part of his research. Love and strength to all the family. Dave Evans