Before you read any further, take a look at the image below. What does it invoke in you? Happy childhood memories, memories maybe of a favourite dessert? It makes me smile for an entirely different reason...explained below.

You see...banoffee pie, in a roundabout way, was my first contact with Chris. There was a celebration going on on the George Harrison forum for his birthday (64th, I think...) Anyway, we were having a kind of online birthday celebration, and somebody posted about offering us some virtual banoffee pie, because she'd just made it in real life, in England. Anyway, I can't remember how it started, but for some reason, dear Chris wasn't quite clear on what was contained in banoffee pie, hence the first words I wrote to her:

"banana and toffee, I think".

It was an unconventional way for a friendship to begin, and what I taught her pales to insignificance when I consider what she taught me, but still makes me smile to this day. If anybody mentions banoffee pie in conversation, I'm apt to grin at the memory.

Another good one revolves around a typically English joke:

"What do you call a man with a spade on his head?"

I didn't take Chris' nationality or native tongue into account, so I was rather surprised when there was a long pause, and later the phrase which I still remember:

"Shady, what's a spade?"

It's brought a smile to write this post, and I hope it's brought a smile to you reading it.

Have a great day/evening, wherever you are.

Shady