A Tribute to Trevor

Bob Blackbourn's address at Trevor's funeral, on Wednesday January 20th,
at St James, West Malvern, to the hundreds of people present
in the packed church.

I was in the garden cutting wood on a frosty day at the turn of the year when I got a text message from Paul Smith.

Paul and I are both Essex boys and we can communicate subliminally ~ usually his text messages are full of mirth and even the seemingly more serious ones turn out to be funny or capable of scaring horses and old ladies ~ but this one conveyed the incredible and unbelievable news that Trevor had been taken ill and died on New Year’s Day and there was no doubt how serious the content was.

Even so I could not believe it. I called Paul and he confirmed the devastating news ~ and I still could not take it in. Later I read Laurie’s piece in the Gazette and I still could not believe Trevor was gone ~ we surely would wake from this and find it was a bad dream. Here I am giving his funeral address ~ and I can’t imagine a more honoured position ~ and I still can’t comprehend it.

As chairman of the Cricket Club I remember how anxious we were when The Brewers was about to be taken over by a new landlord ~ after-match socialising being an important part of a day’s cricket and the village pub a vital part of our social and fund raising efforts.

I’m sure my worries would have been reflected in many village organisations and in the minds of regulars. How would we be received? Would there be any scope to help us? Would the pub survive this latest transition?

After the passage of just 4½ years it is hard to imagine we really had these concerns, such has been our experience since then. Trevor was soon a committee member of the Cricket Club and a driving force behind its activities ~ indeed directly and indirectly he became the Club’s greatest benefactor. He took part in matches (and won a club award for his performance) and took liberties with the normal dress code ~ see the pictorial evidence in the Bar at the pub.

There was no forgiving to do for the latter, indeed we loved him the more for being himself and loved the fact that he had grown so fond of our little ground and our club. I know you will all have had parallel experiences in your own organisations, and personally, which makes the man even more remarkable.

Sue of course joined Trevor shortly after his arrival at the Brewers, Sue had chosen to retire from her secure job in Local Government Housing, to join Trevor in managing one of the highest pubs in the Malverns. The Trevor-Sue combination was an instant success with Trevor’s overt and welcoming style combining with Sue’s quiet and discreet organisation with food, and, more importantly, the back-room work with the books and all that entails!

I would like to share some lines from Ella Wheeler Wilcox with you to set the scene for painting a picture of Trevor (and Sue’s) impact on the Village.

So many gods,
so many creeds,
so many paths that wind and wind,
when just the art of being kind
is all this sad world needs

There is little doubt in my mind that Trevor was a magician with people ~ and that’s apart from his legendary Tommy Cooper impressions.

He could weave social magic with his energy and that winning smile. He took the paths of our lives rambling as they do and guided and wove them in a quite unique way and the nodal point was the Brewers ~ although his magic spread further and further the longer he was with us. 

He drew us together, he made us laugh, he showed us he cared and we fell in love with Trevor and Sue.

As he identified needs in the village he shone the spotlight of his personality and his unique ideas into dark corners and brightened all our lives. He showed us also that we perhaps had forgotten just how special a place West Malvern was to live in as he fell in love with the village and its surroundings.

Who can forget the Best View in England ~ we will look over it now with a special relish and more than a hint of sadness.  I had a chat with him just a few months ago about his future plans ~ I was worried that such a successful landlord would move on to something bigger and better and that we would lose him ~ but he made it clear that this is where he wanted to spend the rest of his life. He felt wanted, settled happy and at home.

If ever there was somebody to show us what kindness could do for a sad world it was Trevor ~ West Malvern is no less than a village transformed and revitalised by his
all-so-short sojourn here.

It is almost as if all the rest of the things Trevor had done in his life were a preparation for these special and magic years on the Hereford/Worcester border. This was what he was meant to do. He came to show us how life could be when lived with love and appreciation of those around you.

This didn’t happen by chance ~ in his radio interview Trevor detailed his philosophy that it was his task to make the village function ~ to be, as he put it, the engine of the village.
 

Nothing made him happier than to see 50 people in his pub laughing and having a good time, even if the curry for  £1 they were eating was sold for less than cost price. He believed in mutual respect, working together and being a happy united band devoid of bickering and arguing.

I was astonished when I found he was 48. Not so much because as Laurie has said to me, “he was taken from us at the ridiculous age of 48 years which feels like madness to me!” but more because in my mind Trevor was ageless, a modern day Peter Pan.

I had never thought about how old he was I just appreciated what great fun he was to be around and what a joy it was to bathe in the life force he radiated ~ it didn’t matter how old you were or where you were from, our Trevor would make you welcome.

And the passage of time and all the energy he expended seemed not to dull his enthusiasm for the next project. Given a good kip he would bounce back, clap those huge hands and ready himself once more recharged and up for the challenge, singing as he went. If you were lucky he would remember more than the first line of the song, before he la la’ed or mumbled the rest.

Laurie and Trevor were great mates as you will know and this is what Laurie says of Trevor.

“Trevor was a great friend to me, and whilst
he needed tempering on a regular
basis, he was a fabulous man, the likes of
whom I will never meet again. 

I am bereft following
his loss as I depended on him for his
enthusiasm, his chirpiness, and his
amazing ability to embrace almost
anybody he touched.

The Brewers Arms became my living
room and Trevor and I were,
increasingly, inseparable!
I wanted to stay connected to him
for the remainder of my days”.

Laurie is right of course. They didn’t throw away the mould when they made Trevor because there wasn’t one. He was individually hand crafted and burnished by life’s experiences.

Laurie and Jerry amongst others have shared some thoughts and anecdotes that they have recalled for
us ~ we could not say a proper goodbye to Trevor
without recalling some of the things he did.

It was Edward de Bono who first drew our attention to the concept of lateral thinking but it was Trevor Marston who made it into an art form. Who can forget the Christmas day held in June or his Beach Party held in February that left Trevor surrounded by beach toys and the only person in the pub dressed in shorts.

Even seasonal events held at the right time had a special added spice ...

His firework nights were noisy, memorable and exceedingly dangerous with some huge fireworks bought from a mate in Tamworth. One lot he referred to as “Munch Nuts”. One rocket damaged the bathroom window of a neighbour, Evelyn Harding, and Penny Gregory once complained vociferously about being in a “war zone” when sparks and debris rained down on her house whilst Laurie was away in Spain.

Real Christmases were shrouded in controversy following disputed results in the “Crunchiest Pickled Onion” and “Strictly Mince Pies” competitions.

Trevor loved dressing up and his permutations included Elvis, a Monk (on Red Knees day) and Tommy Cooper.

His impersonation of Tommy Cooper was reckoned to be the best, and plans were in hand for a group outing to the Tommy Cooper show in Malvern in a few months time.

Trevor, surprisingly, gave up his heavy smoking and took to walking on the Malvern Hills in order to counteract any weight gain. Perhaps this was instigated when he hired a gorilla costume which he could not do up at the back because there was too much Trevor at the front!

He organised Easter Egg Hunts for the children of the village, lost a barrel of beer on the dingle slope which careered down into Jackie & Mark’s garden and demolished a rare Victorian chimney pot, and lost his false teeth on a trip sponsored by Eldridge Pope ~ his reward following the  winning the best pub view competition. The prize was a stay at a pub in Devon and his teeth were sadly flushed down the loo and ended up in the River Exe. Worryingly, his latest set of teeth is also missing and their fate is a complete mystery.

Laurie tells me that Trevor was also learning some French. Thus far he had not got beyond a few words but constantly confused bonjour with boudoir, Wouldn’t you just have loved to taken him to Calais and egged him on to say hello to a lady or two?

Trevor was unique in the pub world. He loved people, and this is not always the case in the trade. One of the big bosses of the Company that owns The Brewers Arms drove up from London to see Trevor recently, and, on entering the pub, said, “Is this it?” ~ he could not  believe that such a small pub could generate such a level of activity ~ he had heard about this unique character, and had to have a look!! Most entering the pub trade are not a Trevor & Sue combination, and the village of West Malvern is now bound to be left feeling very uncertain about the future. It’s down to us now and I know we are doing and will do all we can to support Sue in her commitment to continue at the Brewers.

Finally we could not forget Trevor’s community spirit ~ for example when rescuing Joe Hurley, a regular customer who he was aware had not been into the pub for a while.

Joe was found very cold in his hut, and, but for Trevor’s intervention, could have died. Joe eventually moved back to Accrington and may be here today. In the same vein let’s recall the work he did for the Church, the School, the Hockey and Cricket Clubs, his initiatives in providing for our needs with breakfasts at the pub, organising a supply of newspapers, lunches for pensioners, the refurbishment of the Arm Pit which became an important village venue etc etc. Yes that all helped the business but they were done with love in mind and the list is almost endless.

In drawing to a close I feel committed to issue a clarion call to the village to continue the good work that Trevor began. It has been said

 “Where ever love is found
we can make this earth
enchanted ground”.

We have absolute proof of this and let’s not shy away at this time of saying just how much we loved this man and what he did for us and our community.

I hope at the very least we will meet each New Year to remember him. When I am there at the gateway of the New Year and new opportunities I will always recall these lines from John Donne’s poem “The Anniversary” which Valerie shared with me more than 25 years ago but at this time I will recall it with Trevor and the people of West Malvern in mind.

“Only our love hath no decay,
this no tomorrow
hath nor yesterday,
running it never
runs from us away,
but truly keeps his first,
last,
everlasting day”

Trevor seems to have been with us for ever ~ let’s make our appreciation of him live on with the things we do in his name from now on.

When we are gathered there let us commit to new work or the continuance of efforts to keep Trevor’s spirit alive in this enchanted land.

Goodbye and God Bless Trevor – it was Bustin!