On a sad note we have to announce the passing of Howard Lunn, our friend, walling companion and branch member for 23 years.
At 81 Howard was our oldest member and until recently very active and in the thick of it. He loved walling on our Pennine Hills where his skilled, meticulous approach was inspirational to all of us. We joked that Howard introduced the rake to walling as his first activity on getting to a walling site would be to tidy up, sort stone, clear space and rake the ground clear of debris. Following this he would chose two or three stones to make himself a comfortable dinner seat at a choice spot out of the wind, preferably with a view, against a completed section of wall. Suffice to say that by the end of the day he had probably completed more wall than the rest of us without raising a sweat.
His quiet, gentle nature made him lovely to work with and those who were lucky enough to find themselves on a stint near Howard would learn a lot as they got the benefit of his skill and advice, and not only about walling. He could build with any grade of stone and took a pleasure in using those awkward stones that everybody else chose to avoid. Our walls are full of ‘Howard Sections’ – triangles, dogheads and dragons’ teeth – which blend in perfectly and don’t look at all out of place.
Howard was a gentleman, ever courteous and willing to help others and we are deeply saddened at his passing; he will be irreplaceable and we are going to miss him horribly. Of course our thoughts at this time are with his wife Elaine, his daughter Jenny and his sister Janet.
Chris Bolshaw