And a friend has just sent me a link to the Oxford Times obit ... could a Mudelf change this thread title to Obit/ RIP Dyk Brooker....
Kitty
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Friends of busker mourn a true ‘free spirit’
10:30am Thursday 27th January 2011
By Emily Allen
A STRAW-HATTED busker who entertained thousands of shoppers in Oxford city centre has died.
Dyk Brooker was last night described as an Oxford icon, best-known for his trademark melod-eon and flower-covered hat.
The 64-year-old, who busked for more than three decades, died at Oxford’s Churchill Hospital on January 18 following a battle with cancer.
To his family and friends he will be remembered for his unconventional life and love of folk music.
Friend of 40 years Gilly Robinson, of Bullingdon Road, East Oxford, met him when he set up the folk club at East Oxford Community Centre.
She said: “He was a free spirit. He didn’t live according to the rules.
“He was very generous with what he had, he was very obstinate, he would never be wrong about anything. He liked a good argument and he was into puns.
“He was a lovely man and he had so many friends.”
Tim Healey, director of Oxford Folk Festival, described Mr Brooker as “warm-hearted and lovable” and “one of nature’s originals”.
Born in Bow, east London, Mr Brooker grew up in Harrow, Middlesex, where he became involved in the Herga Folk Club and learned to be a morris dancer.
He moved to Oxford in the 1970s and lodged with friends before moving into a flat belonging to a local church.
Friends said he lived his life ‘hand to mouth’, busking to make a living in the city centre and in towns and cities around the UK.
He was a founder member of the Wheatley Morris Men and organised and took part in hundreds of folk festivals, including the Wallingford Bunkfest.
He was a well-known character on the local folk scene, especially at the Fir Tree pub in East Oxford.
About 10 years ago he bought a van and travelled around Britain to promote folk music and learn about its traditions.
He stood as a Liberal candidatefor the city council in 1977, boosting the Liberal vote, and also helped raise money for Helen House children’s hospice.
His sister, Helen Newton Prince, of Peterborough, said: “He never quite caught up with the second half of the 20th century, loved his radio, The Archers, cricket, and political debates but modern living and technology were not for him.”
Folk singer Mick Henry, of Marston, said: “He was a very flamboyant character, very colourful. He was part of the furniture in Oxfordshire and iconic in Oxford. He will be sorely missed.”
Mr Brooker’s funeral will take place at Oxford Crematorium on Friday, February 4, at 11.15am.
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