31/10/2026
💙 Damien 🕊️
It's been a while since I've written about Damien, my best friend and the inspiration for Ruby's Caring Paws. He's been on my mind lately, so I wanted to share a bit more of him with those of you who never got to meet him or didn't know about him
I met Damien at four years old, at nursery. He was already a very tall child (he went on to reach 6ft 7!) and he protected the toy cars we used to drive around in, until I arrived and we became friends. We went to first school together (yes, that's what it used to be called, I'm that old). Damien lived for football at break time, while I was more into role play. Somehow it worked.
I moved away when I was 8 and we drifted a little, only meeting now and then, until we found each other again in high school at 12. From then on we were inseparable as we reached our teenage years: lads' holidays, clubbing nights, gigs and a golden final year at school after (not doing very well in) our GCSEs. We even went to college together.
Damien was quiet, good fun and had a dark sense of humour, much like mine. He was popular with everyone he met, but at heart he was a gentle giant. He was incredibly loyal to his friends and very close to his lovely mum.
While I trained as a teacher at university in Reading, Damien and a friend came to visit two or three times a year for some very memorable (and very drunken) student evenings.
Huntington's disease had sadly taken Damien's dad and his sister far too young, and he faced it with a bravery I still think about. He never let it define him. He lived life the way he wanted to, a simple life full of the things he loved. He worked in McDonald's for a few years, then as a security guard until his condition meant he had to stop.
Many years ago I became seriously ill, and Damien came to see me. He sat and told me the football scores while I was very unwell. He was an introvert, and my wife Ellie still describes it as the most animated she ever saw him, even while he was so aware of his own mortality creeping in slowly and cruelly. I've never forgotten it.
As his condition progressed, I found that the hardest stage of our friendship, as his speech and movement became harder. He had a horrible experience in one care home and a far more positive one in his last. I visited when I could and often brought our dogs Gypsy and Leo, who always lit up his face. Damien adored dogs, especially Ruby, Pepper and Pedro. He kept his humour throughout, and shared a special bond with Ellie, who always brought it out of him.
I was privileged to be his power of attorney, helping him with his finances so he could enjoy life how he wanted. We shared holidays, comedy nights, gigs and festivals, trips to his beloved Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium, musicals, and the Warner Bros Studio Tour, because he was a huge Harry Potter fan. His mum sadly passed away before him, and Damien died in August 2023 after a short time in hospital.
His life was cruel and far shorter than it should have been. But our friendship was beautiful, and he was a big part of an incredible life and he's very missed. He inspired this business, and it keeps him alive for me.
Thank you for letting me share him with you. I thought you could do with a bit of light reading this Halloween evening.💙
