February 11th 2021 was a bright, sometimes sunny, but incredibly cold day with a biting wind, with wind chill it was probably -5 C.   The ceremony was out in the Oxfordshire countryside, near Watchfield, at a woodland burial site.  Whilst there was a roundhouse shelter, the wind was coming straight into the structure.   His family and Jillian arrived early about 11.00 and then set up an area in the roundhouse with some photos and champagne and beers for later. We talked with the celebrant and decided that the best place to put a fire to warm ourselves up was out of the wind behind the roundhouse - as the roundhouse would have gone up in smoke otherwise! 

People arrived gradually, and in the end there were around 20 of us, a perfect number for the size of the roundhouse and getting round the fire after.   The hearse arrived, and the wicker coffin was loaded onto a wicker trolley and brought into the roundhouse.  The four posies on the coffin were from Jillian, Ingrid, Basil and his family, and Nick's cousin Anita and husband.  The last one being red and white because she is Danish.

The celebrant, Liz began with some music, a welcome, a reading from Dickens, some words of introduction from Jillian, and then Nigel Gates, Nick's fellow Emmanuel geographer's eulogy was read out.  Ingrid struggled with the bitter cold delivering a 'day in the mountains with Nick' and after she finished, the ceremony was reordered, so that we could all get round the fire as soon as possible to warm up.

We buried Nick on a bitterly bitterly cold day.  We followed the wicker cart with the flowers from his friends in it across the field to the newly dug grave.  Nick was lowered in, and we threw sprigs of rosemary into the grave.   And then walked back to the fire.   And all present got a drink in their hand, either a real ale or champagne, and later a bag of crisps, and Basil made a toast to Nick.   Gradually warming up all the tributes started - from his friend Alan Burchard who had sent one in,  and in person that I recall from Tim O'Rourke, Adrian Nicholls, Bob Hill, and William Storey.  People were talking, reminiscing, warming up. and the Mongolian Drinking Song was played to which some of us jigged around to keep warm.

We finished all the drinks, many of us were driving so we were limited on that front.  Nick's collection of beer mugs were given away to those he had shared many a pint with.  But what his family and Jillian have promised, is that, some time later, when conditions allow, we would like to have two commemoration parties for Nick.  One out west in the Cotswolds, and one in London.  We will set aside his funds for these, and we look forward to seeing his friends again so they can enjoy another drink or two on their old friend Nick.