Paul was born on the 28th August 1971, in Bromley, weighing just 3 pounds and four ounces. He was the youngest child of Pam and Billy, and had three brothers, John, Billy and Andy and three sisters, Bevvy, Jane and Sarah. Growing up, Paul’s family moved between Witham, Dagenham and Thamesmead. As a child, he loved making makeshift camps indoors, making use of any materials that came to hand. He told me how he instinctively knew how to build a tepee and that whilst doing the Duke of Edinburgh award Prince Phillip remarked on how impressed he was with his skills. At five years old, it was discovered that Paul’s vision was severely impaired, a disability from which he affected him throughout his life. He required the use of a white stick at times. As a teenager, Paul’s passions were Hip Hop and graffiti. His tag name was ‘Realm’. He showed his enterprising spirit, printing t-shirts to order for sale in clubs. He DJed at outdoor Hip Hop festivals in Clapham common and Brixton. Later, in the late eighties and early nineties, he played house music at raves and at the Astoria and the legendary Shoom club in London. A face on the club scene, Erick Morillo, Frankie Knuckles, Philip Salon, Boy George, Bros and Jimmy Sommerville were among the people he knew at that time. He later moved to Evesham, Hereford and lived and worked in Spain for a while where he learned to speak what he called the slang version of Spanish. I met Paul in 2000 in the Kings Arms pub in Soho. We were together for 11 years. I immediately knew what a funny and charming person he was, Gradually, I came to know what a highly sensitive and caring person Paul was also. We shared our love of music and would spend hours going through his record collection. It was in his nature to dote on people and he looked after his mother Pam throughout her life and nursed her up until she passed away in 2008. He was always there for me when I needed someone to talk to and seemed to have the ability to make you feel better just by listening to your problems. He was passionate about food and loved cooking at home.

He saw the best in everyone. He loved his family and friends and unconditionally. Paul, brother, son, nephew, boyfriend, uncle and great-uncle, you will be missed.