Throughout the late 60's and early 70's Stephen's mum and my mum used to be very good friends.

I remember the layout of their town house in Upper Holly Walk, Leamington Spa very well - this probably has to do with accidently knocking a large concrete pigeon-like ornament off the sill in Stephen's bedroom while playing hide-and-seek! While I don't remember the mess this caused, I do remember the little scar above his brow!!

As children, we shared many an adventure; trips to London; local Summer walks and many a picnic (see attached photo circa 1966)

Stephen always had an interesting and experimental attitude towards life and because of this, we always got on very well.

After break in contact during the latter School years, I caught up with Stephen again in London during my first undergraduate year - I was unhappy with my chosen course and Stephen suggested I come and have a look around his Polytechnic where he was studying Architecture (now the University of Westminster).

This proved a bit of an eye-opener for me compared to the stuffy and rather formal atmosphere at Imperial College. I decided there and then that this was the creative life I needed and applied to join the undergraduate course.

I remember a saying a couple of nights with Stephen in his Balham flat where we talked over some his design projects and his sources of inspiration (very enlightening too!!). I understood from both students and tutors that Stephen seemed to have a reputation at college for coming up with imaginative solutions to briefs!

After college we sadly lost contact with each other: a situation perhaps influenced by a tangling of relationships between some of our parents.

I had in the past few years, been thinking of contacting him as I understood he settled only a few miles away from me here in North London - I had been given his address on a piece of paper but misplaced it (in the way that so many things seem to go astray).

So the news of his death was a bit of a double blow.

I will always remember him as a long-standing and genuine friend with similar tastes and outlooks on life - I will miss him.

Chris Perkins