I have so many funny and great memories of Ibby but two spring to mind right now..

A friend visited me at the tennis club and Ibby came over to say hi and immediately said “Are you pregnant?” (She was not) when I told him off he said “I’m sorry, I got flustered, she’s beautiful!” 

Before my wedding Ibby pulled me aside one evening at the club to check my teeth (as he did..!) and said nope, you can’t have that filling for your wedding, the photos will look awful. Come see me I’ll sort you out. And he did.. 

These stories sum Ibby up for me; wildly inappropriate but kind and generous to a fault. I can’t imagine the club and world without him and he is so dearly missed. 

It has taken me several days ,since I heard the news About Ibby,to come to grasps with it , still can't believe he is gone , really have no words to describe how bad I feel for Waqar and his family, since we met some 15 or so years ago ,they became our closest friends almost immediately, I met Ibby soon after that , He could make a hell of a first impression on anybody, The spontaneous  slang coming out of his mouth was unbelievable , I said to myself I love this guy , couldn't wait to see him every year when  came to Pearland to visit, he was bigger than life, full of love ,energy , compassion and most of all full of crap haha , I will miss you brother, love ya god bless

Ibby and I arrived at Cape Town airport after an eleven hour night flight peeling off our winter clothes we stood in line for the car hire. Ibby got wind that my choice of car wouldnot meet his standards, his male posturing kicked in and he disappeared off to the luxury car desk. As I neared the front of the queue I went to retrieve him from the luxury car desk moments before he had signed the paperwork on a £8,500.00 automatic luxury car. To my amusement the gear stick and lack of power on my chosen car caused him untold embarrassment. At the end of the holiday he said he wished he had paid the £8,500.00 to save himself the humiliation in letting the car roll back every time we were supposed to move forward from stationary.

March 2017

Dearest Ibby ,I've know you since I was just 19 and at Uni- you made me feel like a sister and you made me feel like I belonged- I wasn't the only coconut-Thank you for that - also  Rag week memories  , beer race , louder than everyone, always ready to party and an entrepreneur . Ibby organised these "disco's" at Uni by renting out the hall attached to the student hostel , and each time they got bigger and better- he wanted to have lasers, well he got lasers , his name was lit up in lasers and these became known as an Ibby Bash .You had to go to one of these on a Friday night .They were heaving and so popular . Also we used to have lectures in the old pathology lecture room  and he had this great idea of getting everyone to chip in a £1 coin  and your name - while we were waiting for the lecturer to turn up - then standing at the front of the class, the tension was palpable- whose name would be drawn out and who would win the huge pot of money .... Ibby livened up lectures and Uni life . Ibby was always ready to say what he thought and take the consequences and did not hold back - he  gave out nicknames- "Oy Meathead , are you coming ?" is one I can hear echoing ( Meathead knows who he is) . He loved his motorbike at Uni- his Genesis . I also remember one Xmas term, we were having a student house Xmas meal and the doorbell rang- it was Ibby - " yeah my shower is not working can I have a shower ? " He turned up with a towel after going to the gym and came round for a shower ! He knows how much I cared for him - one of my boys in "The Family" as we called ourselves at Uni . It was great to see you at your 50th, with the PLTC which had become your family and at the Uni reunion we had in 2017 . You didn't want to join our Zoom this January -stating that "I don’t do Zoom guys. I’ll see you all in person when this shit storms over in the summer." - Til we meet again  for the Big Bash - get those lasers ready Ibby - " the only way is up ..baby ".