Jim Marshall: An Appreciation
It is particularly sad to have to report on the death, on Tuesday 11 September, of Jim Marshall, following a brain haemorrhage. Jim – predeceased only fairly recently by his wife Noreen – was a long-standing, dedicated, and much-valued member of NWEMF, a loyal attendant of both its workshops and its Summer school. He was an enthusiastic and capable bass singer, managing somehow to cope with an increasingly severe hearing loss. Devotees of ‘Ambleside’ (I do refer quite specifically to that, the original location for the NWEMF Summer School) will have many fond memories of Jim there; one of the most agreeable, for many of us, was his ‘Jim Palace’ (read ‘Gin Palace’!) in Room 05 of one of the campus cottages, Ashfield, where on a daily basis several stalwarts of the course gathered for pre-prandial refreshments, linked to convivial conversation, at the end of the morning sessions. The location was also known as the ‘Blue Hydrangea’ for a reason obvious to visitors who came in via the rear entrance to the cottage.
Jim attended NWEMF workshops on a pretty regular basis; indeed, had illness not intervened, he would certainly have intended to be present at this term’s events. Through NWEMF not least he acquired a wide circle of friends, and will be remembered for his quiet but very warm personality, his broad range of anecdotes, and his dry sense of humour. He will be greatly missed; may his soul rest in peace.
Roger Wilkes
Published in September 2012 Newsletter
