I've not had much to do with the shanty scene, except visits to Sea Fever in Hull over the past four years. One of the great memories and attractions for me was watching Stormalong John and Tony in particular. Although the whole group were singing, Tony was the one the eye was drawn to and you knew that he would always entertain.

There are many words that could be used in his obituary and I'm not qualified to say I know which are best used, but the one I personally would use is "Exuberant". If the worth of a life is measured in the amount of pleasure they have given to others, then Tony's was priceless.

I'm going to dig out some CD's now and sing a few songs to Tony. Oh, and I might just have a pint in his honour too!