Thanks for a wonderful friendship

From Patrick Tobin.

SHOULD we be angry? Can we be angry with someone who we don’t even know and will never know us? I am talking about an unknown lorry driver who took the life of someone who, to my wife Sandra and I, became a lifelong friend.

The first time I met John Lyons was in 1982 at the start of the Jersey Marathon at Rue des Prés Trading Estate. We had a brief chat and both made the point that neither of us was running the race that year for different reasons. We didn’t really meet up again for a few years, and that was when Sandra and I were running with the Jersey Hash House Harriers.

When the Jersey Crapaud Hash House Harriers was formed the following year we joined them and, would you believe, John Lyons and, I think, a young man called Dougie Smith had planned the first run we did with the group.

Over the five years in the Crapaud Hash we had some of the funniest time of our lives and we used to see John probably every other week, along with his wife Judy.

Sandra and I will always remember the best times when the three of us used to get together to lay a trail and the banter (John was good at that) was hilarious. We’d then go for a cuppa after, which would last sometimes for a couple of hours.

By a lifelong friend to us, I mean that even over the past few years when we did not see a great deal of John, or even Judy, when we did meet him it was as if we could pick up previously where we left off and the banter continued.

I am sure that what I have said here must relate to plenty of people who knew John and, yes, I think a lot of us can feel anger for what has happened. But Sandra and I are so pleased that we met John and enjoyed his company so much.

Our deepest sympathies to Judy and the children.