Arrangements for the funeral of John Hoskins
Friday 30th August 2019 3.15pm
Yardley Crematorium, Birmingham
You are invited to attend a service of remembrance and thanksgiving for the life of John. This will be held at Yardley Crematorium on Friday 30th August at 3.15pm.
All are invited back to the Journey’s End in Yardley, for refreshments and to share memories of John.
John’s family welcome any tributes, words of remembrance and stories about him so do feel free to leave any messages at the bottom of this webpage.
Please share this link with anyone you feel may wish to know about John’s funeral.
I don’t think I actually met John until the late 1980’s or early ’90’s, but by the time i did I had been thoroughly briefed by mutual acquaintances.
I was out and about in the city one Saturday with Serge Paul who was my guide to so many aspects of Birmingham life after I moved to the city in 1987. Serge suggested that we visit ‘The Adam & Eve’ at the top of Bradford Street in Digbeth – “John always drops in there for a few pints on a Saturday teatime” said Serge, but the traffic was bad due to the multitudes pouring out of St Andrews after the match, so we were somewhat later getting there than had been the plan. When we arrived, there was the usual groundswell of early evening drinkers, but no sign of John.
Now this was in pre-mobile phone days but as those of us who know him are aware, Serge could sniff out a public phone in a pea-souper fog whilst blindfolded in those days so he rang John at home. I stood next to Serge as he made the call and I distinctly recall picking up the distant barrage of John’s response to the idea that he would ever be in ‘The Adam & Eve’ at such a late hour (it was maybe 6:30 pm) and how he proceeded to berate Serge for not being up to speed with his Saturday schedule, He flatly rejected any idea that he might pop out and meet us for a pint; as far as he was concerned, this situation was all down to our shoddy timekeeping. By this point, Serge was in virtual hysterics and could hardly put together a coherent response due to laughing so much.
So that’s how I nearly met John for the first time….but didn’t. When I did get to meet him it was at the late, lamented ‘Cannonball’ pub, also in Digbeth. This time we were on time and I quickly took to his dry wit and ready humour. ‘The Adam & Eve’ is now closed, I believe, but that was to be my only visit. My bus home from the City Centre passes the pub en route and I always – and will always – think of John whenever I pass by. I also usually check my watch to make sure I’m not late!
A lovely story, eloquently put. Thanks for sharing, Andy.
When thinking of John the first two things that spring to mind are Westwood Ho! and Ice cream.
Each summer Johns wife Kathie, their good friend Diane and my mom Sally would take us on our annual Haven holiday.
One caravan, three adults and six children. You can imagine why this was only a once a year event.
We would go over to John and Kathie’s on a Friday evening and be given the Haven brochure to look at so we could all pick a venue we liked the look of.
Kathie’s husband John would often come and join us for a couple of days as he did the year we went to Westwood Ho!
I remember sitting opposite the beach, I think we were about to play crazy golf and noticing an ice cream van. Hmmm would my pocket money stretch to an ice cream or should I save it for the arcade that evening. As I reached to check the pound coin holder I was wearing around my neck (anyone who was a child in the 90’s will remember these) I spotted John.
John told us all he was going to treat us to an ice-cream. Not just any ice cream… an EXPENSIVE ice-cream a Cornetto. I’m sure our eyes lit up with delight at this treat and it is something that has always sat fondly in my memory. In fact the following day he treated us to a 99 ice-cream with a flake and clotted cream no less. What a guy!
When my mom told me the sad news of Johns passing I thought about those childhood memories. I decided it would be nice to celebrate that happy time John had shared with us.
The following day I arrived at work with a box of Cornetto Ice creams. I explained the story behind them to my colleagues and we raised our Cornetto’s in a toast to John, a kind man who will be remembered fondly.
Unfortunately i’m not quite as generous as John so i did not return to work the following day with 99’s, much to my colleagues disappointment.
Helen, what a wonderful memory. Thanks so much for sharing it! John would have approved of that wonderful ‘toast’ with your colleagues.
I first met John in 1966 in Birmingham. I remember having a great time with John at the parties and the pub. I used to bring food parcels from London, mostly provided from my mum’s larder, which John really appreciated.(Roger) In more recent years we have had good outings with John and Kathie such as when John and Kathie were VIP’s at Warwick Racecourse, visiting Waddesdon Manor and lots more happy and chatty times.
I shall miss his tips on racing (Roger)
I shall never forget how he beat me at pool in recent years (Brenda)
Happy memories will stay with us forever.
I first met John in 1979 at one of Mike Collins’s notorious parties. We’ve been friends for 40-years which is a tribute to his loyal, accepting and non-judgemental nature. We’ve celebrated Christmas, birthdays and other life events in restaurants in Birmingham; Moroccan, Thai, Indian, Turkish and more besides. We did have an actual holiday in Essaouira, Morocco when eight of us went to a World Music Festival for a week. John loved music, especially blues, and I have a strong memory of frog marching him out of the festival area when the lack of security got just a little too evident. We had such fun.
To celebrate John’s 70th birthday, we bought him tickets to a Michael Chapman gig in Doncaster. It turned out to be in a brewery and we had to negotiate our way past brewing paraphernalia to get to the event. The next morning, we had breakfast in a caravan park. It had come highly recommended. John took all this in his stride with his usual relaxed and easy-going manner. He was humorous, with a dry wit and I remember how entertaining he was in telling the story of the mad cat that he and Kathie owned that had hospitalised them both in the same hospital at the same time although they were both unaware of one another’s presence.
One last memory is when John had just had the innovative treatment in Russia for his retinitis pigmentosa. We were sitting in Adil’s restaurant and he could see more clearly than before, albeit temporarily. He took centre stage, commenting on shapes such as a bus driving past the window, and with a twinkle in his eye, he commented on what lovely faces we women had got.
Sociology Days
I was introduced to John by Peter in 1966/67 in my first year and their final year studying Sociology at Birmingham College of Commerce. John and I had a passing acquaintance until I took my finals in summer ’69, when I was surprised to find him in the seat in front of mine taking his finals for the third (luckily successful) time.
During that overheated exam week we arranged to hitchhike together on the Friday evening to go to a party in Mill Hill. As we reached the M1 it was getting dark and John asked me to hold his hand because he couldn’t see too well. He quickly pointed out that I wasn’t to get the wrong idea as he was already ‘ spoken for’. At the party I met Kathie. In late 1971 when Peter and I started going out, the four of us became firm friends, saw each other frequently, and enjoyed a great variety of activities together.
Thank you for all the fun, John!
I first met John on our first day at the College of Commerce in Birmingham, where we had gone to study for a degree in Sociology. the year was 1964. We were both standing in the line to register for the course and for accommodation. He was in front of me and we got talking. I said I had a scooter and he could come with me to look for lodgings we had seen advertised in the evening paper. We both had our flowing locks at the time and made a handsome couple.
We found a room to rent in Handsworth and shared the bed and breakfast and evening meal accommodation with about eight others. The room was so cold in winter that we had ice on the inside of the windows. We stayed there for quite a time ( at least a term) and made friends with the other inhabitants, who were rather a strange lot ( not students) . We played snooker with them and went to the pub with them. I even went on holiday with two of them.
John and I did all the usual student things pubs, parties, dances and girls ( and did a little studying in between). We used to attend some parties with an upside down, empty, seven pint can of Watney`s Red Barrel as our entry contribution, I remember. We stayed together throughout or College years, although we moved frequently. That was the beginning of a long friendship with John, which has lasted through the years.
John and I met when I was 16 and awaiting GCE ‘O’ level results. Since then he has been a constant source of love, support, help, encouragement, motivation and inspiration.
I know what to do without John. It was always me doing things, dancing, walking, visiting gardens, stately homes and castles. Marie and Michael, as children, always joked, if I was a bit late, ‘She’s probably gone to see a castle’. In the last six years, it’s being a Samaritan that took me away from home. Always, on my return, he was there, with a coffee or a glass of wine, ready to hear about my day, and comfort, commiserate or congratulate, whatever was needed.
What I don’t know is how to be without John. I’d hoped we’d have many more happy years together.
I’ve always loved the following poem and thought that’s how things would be. Well, they were for John and he doesn’t have to struggle or suffer any more.
Young and Old.
When all the world is young, lad,
And all the trees are green.
And every goose a swan, lad,
And every lass a queen.
Then hey for boot and horse, lad,
And round the world away!
Young blood must have its course, lad,
And every dog his day.
When all the world is old, lad,
And all the trees are brown:
And all the sport is stale, lad,
And all the wheels run down:
Creep home and take your place there,
The spent and maim’d among:
God grant you find one face there
You loved when all was young.
Charles Kingsley
I only had the pleasure of knowing John for little over two years, but in that time I experienced some wonderful times with John and his family. What I noticed about John was that he had a great sense of humour that was as fast as his ability to produce stats from past sporting events. John had an incredible sense and perception of someone’s wellbeing, he could pick up on things that most of us would miss. He asked questions that had an element of care and genuine interest in the person he was enquiring about.
I loved the way he would lift his head slightly and role his eyes when I informed him that Birmingham City had conceded another goal. John would always let me know how Forest Green we’re getting on as we had them in a season long accumulator , most of the time they would be losing ( my prediction not johns).
I’m very grateful for knowing John. He brought a lot to my life and helped me to perceive things from a different angle. John was a very brave person and possessed a very calming, kind and warming qualities, something we could all learn from and carry with us in our journey through this life. Thank you John.
Love Pete.