Nick James

Nick James - 15.12.1954 - 28.8.2024

Nick suffered a serious collision with a car on Saturday August 3rd,
while cycling from the Gemini guesthouse to the Jollyup field in Cliddesden, near Basingstoke.
He was airlifted to Southampton Hospital and found to have serious head injuries
He was put into an induced coma, to allow his brain time to heal,
Leslie was able to stay in the relative's room at the hospital
After three weeks, and some hopeful signs, he was moved to ICU in a Bristol hospital.
Sadly, he stayed with us just a few more precious days, before passing away.
The family have planned a small, private funeral, but hope to organise a gathering of his friends in due course.

Order of Service

Alan & Lynne Cosgrove wrote this eulogy, and Lynne read it after the funeral service, at the Willow Tree Cafe...

I first got to know about Nick at Weymouth Kite Festival many years ago. His kite artistry had been
recommended to me by Ramlal of Zoone. Ramlal reckoned we shared a particular sense of humour.
it turned out he was right!

I first met Nick at the following year’s Weymouth Kite Festival. I was strolling along the beach looking for
potential guests to invite to Basingstoke Kite Festival. Without realising who he was I walked up to him,
drawn by his angel kite, and asked “Are you German?” It wasn’t as if he was wearing lederhosen! He
replied “No, do I look like it?” And so began many years of friendship.

We saw him every year at Basingstoke and he watched our daughters growing up. They really enjoyed
his company. He would bring them little gifts of gadgets, lights or badges. And he would encourage them
to join in any of the silly pub games, like beer mat flipping, when they were older.

He always took the time to strike up a conversation with my brother-in-law who was Down’s.
Often they could be found in a quiet corner having a giggle.

Nick and I had plenty of insomniac early hours’ conversation on-line, as I’m sure he did with many of you.
He would share all manner of interests, like his enjoyment of his fire pit, his eclectic taste in music,
his joy of choir singing, his light shows and the shrine he added to after every trip.

I would describe Nick as having a strong sense of spirituality borne out by, amongst other things, his
iconic angle kites.
I would like to share some of a poem you may recognise because it reminds me of how Nick lived his life.

(from the poem Desiderata)
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Thank you for the love you shared Nick. We will miss you very much.

and a precious memory from Dicky...
I would like to share with you a short story, that I hope will help a little to ease the pain in your hearts,
and add to the storehouse of memories of dear Nick and how he brightened our lives in unexpected ways.

The tale begins with loss of another dear friend back in 2014, when we lost Ron Dell,
and I was blessed with a request to pay tribute to him at his farewell service.

When I stood up in the church (beautifully decorated with banners and a pair of Nick's angels)
I was quite calm, but my mind was empty - I had no idea what I was going to say about that lovely bloke.

So, I just stood there for a bit, in front of a sea of friendly faces, and miraculously the words came to me -
just a very few words, but enough to break the wall of silence and get me going.

I was asking myself, "What would Ron say?" and there - just like that, I had my answer...

"Share The Love"

Those three little words seemed to sum up all that Ron stood for, and somehow I was then able to say
the things that I wanted to say, and everyone listened - and Nick must have taken those words to heart,
as it was not long before one of his lovely angel kites bore those words, and another said "Partager L'amour"

At a later Teston fly-in, I was touched to see the same words on the feathers provided by Kent Kite Flyers

I think that sentiment is at the heart of our band of aging kite fliers, and it is what we try to instil
into the hearts of those who we hope will follow in our footsteps and "Share The Love"

With the kind permission of those who took photos of the several visual memorials to Nick,
I plan to insert copies of those photos in this space, if I fail to ask you, please forgive me?
Thank you - Richard Nourse (Dicky)

Nick always puts on a beautiful display at Cervia - this was a precious moment in 2019

photo by Franca Perletti - mille grazie Franca!

Forward Planning for Dieppe 2016
Hi, just thought I would give you some info about my installation in the wind garden in Dieppe.
We were asked by the organisers to submit proposals which they the accepted or rejected.
I proposed and was accepted for a plan for an 'installation' called Breathing Space.
This is again based on a three minute Buddhist meditation.
The idea is that members of the public take a breather from the busy crowds
to sit on the "Absent Friends Bench" and revive their spirits.

I think that the bench is really appropriate as this is also a time to remember absent friends.

There will be Feather Angels and 'pods' on poles surrounding the bench.
Of course I will mention the gits in my signs at the installation.
I will also invite people to take photos of themselves on the bench & send them to my Nick James Kitemaker
facebook page. I can then also share them with the Grumpy Old Gits.

I did something like this at Bristol last year and was very pleased with the results.

Nick James Breathing Space at Bristol 2015

May 2016 - Nick had a great time in Cervia

and here is his Cervia 2016 Facebook Photo Album
and a rather beautiful video... Cervia Kite Festival 2016

Nick seems to like getting his feet wet - here he is in Cervia 2015