Danecdotes

3 years later and still a top bloke

Always a character always missed.

I watched the funeral again the other day. Seeing the slide show, I hadn't realised before that I could have been in almost any of the photos of Dan throughout his life. That's an obvious thing for his brother to say, but it really hadn't hit me before just how intertwined our lives were. You don't know normal until you stop and take a step back to look at it. I don't remember much growing up, but I do remember riding my bike in the garden when I would have been 4 years old. I remember coming round the side of the house and seeing an ambulance parked in the driveway. I went in the house and there was my mum holding my new baby brother. We grew up together on the Isle of Wight. We played like brothers do and we fought like brothers do. When it came time for me to go to university, I moved up to Sheffield because Sheffield is a long way from the Isle of Wight. When it came time for Dan to go to university, he moved up to Sheffield because Sheffield was where I had gone. In a way, then, that makes me responsible for his time here in Sheffield. He wouldn't have been here if I hadn't come here. And there was crap in Dan's life but that wasn't because of Sheffield. No, Sheffield was the city he chose to settle in, the people he chose to surround himself with. He loved this city, he loved the countryside around it, he loved the quirky humour that Sheffield has, that sometimes comes out in the graffiti on the walls of this city, he loved the trees within it and he loved the clouds above it. Those of you who knew Dan from his time in Sheffield, we had good times here, didn't we? The end of Dan's life was very sudden and a lot of you weren't able to be there for his death. But you were there for his life, and for that I thank you. I thank you for the positive effect you had on my brother's life, for the fun he had and for the joy that you brought him.

Although he wasn't able to meet her, Dan always asked about our puppy, Lottie. We hoped that if he was better (and she calmed down a bit), they would be able to meet. Lottie's favourite thing in the world is leaves, so the morning after he passed, we went on a long walk and she sniffed, ate and jumped in every leaf she could find. We (my husband Brett and I) are reminded of the gift of life through Dan. It's a gift to be able to take a dog on a walk in the chilly morning, to jump in leaves and to be grateful for every day. Thanks Dan for everything, we'll make sure to let Lottie jump in every pile of leaves that she wants to! (see video of lottie exploring the leaves the day after Dan passed away) 

The music in the video is Rachmaninov's setting of Psalm 104.

Psalm 104

1 Praise the Lord, my soul.

Lord my God, you are very great;
    you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

2 The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment;
    he stretches out the heavens like a tent
3     and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
    and rides on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes winds his messengers,[a]
    flames of fire his servants.

5 He set the earth on its foundations;
    it can never be moved.
6 You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment;
    the waters stood above the mountains.
7 But at your rebuke the waters fled,
    at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
8 they flowed over the mountains,
    they went down into the valleys,
    to the place you assigned for them.
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross;
    never again will they cover the earth.

10 He makes springs pour water into the ravines;
    it flows between the mountains.
11 They give water to all the beasts of the field;
    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky nest by the waters;
    they sing among the branches.
13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
    the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.
14 He makes grass grow for the cattle,
    and plants for people to cultivate—
    bringing forth food from the earth:
15 wine that gladdens human hearts,
    oil to make their faces shine,
    and bread that sustains their hearts.
16 The trees of the Lord are well watered,
    the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17 There the birds make their nests;
    the stork has its home in the junipers.
18 The high mountains belong to the wild goats;
    the crags are a refuge for the hyrax.

19 He made the moon to mark the seasons,
    and the sun knows when to go down.
20 You bring darkness, it becomes night,
    and all the beasts of the forest prowl.
21 The lions roar for their prey
    and seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, and they steal away;
    they return and lie down in their dens.
23 Then people go out to their work,
    to their labor until evening.

24 How many are your works, Lord!
    In wisdom you made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.
25 There is the sea, vast and spacious,
    teeming with creatures beyond number—
    living things both large and small.
26 There the ships go to and fro,
    and Leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

27 All creatures look to you
    to give them their food at the proper time.
28 When you give it to them,
    they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
    they are satisfied with good things.
29 When you hide your face,
    they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
    they die and return to the dust.
30 When you send your Spirit,
    they are created,
    and you renew the face of the ground.

31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
    may the Lord rejoice in his works—
32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
    who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    as I rejoice in the Lord.
35 But may sinners vanish from the earth
    and the wicked be no more.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Praise the Lord.

Dan never liked cats, so in honour of his subversive sense of humour I'm toasting his new life in glory with a bottle of beer dedicated to his feline 'friends'.  I'm sure he'd appreciate my thoughfulness and have a choice word or two to say about God's 'wisdom' in creating felines!

Here's to you, Dan - a true friend and inspiration.

Dan inspired me with his typically unique, light-hearted but profound and solid view of God - while I so often get bogged down in the little things, Dan always seemed to have an inherent view of God as majestic and mighty.  Maybe that's why skies were so important.  It's certainly an inspiration for me to look up more and remember God really is very, very big and very, very mighty.  Thank you, Dan - for this and so much more.

We went on a 24 hour silent & fasting retreat to Whitby. There were many of us there and many great things happened. 
The most vivid memory I have is in 2 parts. 
Firstly I was on my own at the foot of the cliffs looking out to sea and the vastness of the ocean. Blown away by all the elements combining and how small I felt. 
Secondly, what appeared as if from nowhere, was Dan. We stood side by side for a while. In silence of course. 
Then it was if the elements beckoned us. We both looked at each other, stripped down to our boxer shorts, grab each other by the hand and ran into the ocean skipping and dancing as we went. 
I have been back to Whitby numerous times over the years and always remember that as one of the precious times. 
I was sadly unable to be there in person at todays funeral. So In honour of Dan and in love I have been out at the stroke of midnight and in silence. Had a naked swim and thought about how grateful I am for you Dan. 
Thank you for how you've have changed me x

much love

James 
 

Time for another Apple Report, and this is a corker: the Ribston Pippin. Just the look of it is a feast for the eyes. One notable thing about this apple is that it's almost certainly the daddy of the Cox's Orange Pippin. And as you'd expect (unless you've only ever eaten poor quality supermarket Coxes), the flavour is an absolute treat. Rich, complex, aromatic, full of character. And just for good measure, it comes from Yorkshire. Everything you'd want in an apple. 10/10.

(Happily bought from the lovely people at Barra Organics)

I say yes. Yes to life; yes to death; yes to letting go; to letting go of control; yes to opportunity; yes to the mountain, even if that means going through the valley; yes to people; yes to growth; yes to the journey, wherever it may take me; yes to His kisses, to letting myself be loved; yes to liminal space and being transformed; yes to feeling emotion, even if it hurts, yes to giving; yes to trusting; yes to reality.

Dan Cooper