Regular readers of this magazine will have noticed a change in this issue. For the first time in fourteen years we have repeated the subject of a cover story. We have done this in order to honour someone whose influence and support for both the area from which the magazine was named, and the magazine itself, has been enormous. Sir John Colfox was my wife’s father. Over the last couple of weeks local press have published many of the fine tributes that were paid to a man whose quiet influence often went unnoticed. On July 23rd his funeral in the village of Symondsbury proved that his life, and the effect he had on those around him, was far from unnoticed. And although many hundreds of people came to pay their respects, it was the extraordinary level of affection shared by such a large crowd that was so moving. Family, relatives, friends, past employees and many of those that knew him—albeit briefly through the many organisations that he gave his time to—came to pay tribute and show how much he was admired. In an address given by the Reverend Joseph Ayok Loewenberg from South Sudan, a past parish priest of Symondsbury, he talked about the compassion and openness that was his lasting impression of Sir John. He told a story about a man once walking through his village in Africa who was carrying the lifeless body of a friend to be buried. A little boy asked “Is he dead?” and the man answered “No, he is not dead. He has many children and grandchildren, and he lives within them.” We often wonder what happens to an individual’s energy force after they are gone, and that may be a question for science to answer. But although it may be somewhat diluted through the generations, anyone carrying even a fraction of my father-in-law’s compassion and love for the world around him is carrying something special, that if generously distributed, can help make the world a better place. FB
