Dave, you are my best mate and I'm going to miss you so bad.
44 years is a very long time to have someone in your life, longer than I've known Jude! In that time, a friendship can become something much more than just a friendship, it becomes family.
You've always been there through the good times, the difficult times, the laughter, the adventures and all the ordinary moments in between.
It's difficult to put into words what you mean to me, or to try to sum up 44 years of friendship in a few paragraphs. We shared so much of life together, and when I look back, what stands out most is just how much we did.
We travelled the world together and had adventures in places that many people only ever dream of visiting. We climbed mountains, walked hills, explored countries and found ourselves in situations that, with hindsight, probably involved rather more risk than we appreciated at the time!
And then there were the cars.
Our love of motor sport gave us another whole world of adventures with the excitement, the noise, the speed, the occasional moments of complete madness and, inevitably, plenty of stories to tell afterwards.
Some of my happiest memories are of our many trips to the Nürburgring Nordschleife. There was something about being there together that perfectly summed up our friendship, the Jag, the BMW, the ST and the adventure, laughter and that shared feeling that there was always another lap, another journey and another adventure waiting for us.
44 years gives you an enormous collection of memories, private jokes, stories, experience and all those photos!
When I think about you now, I don't want to remember only that you're gone. I want to remember the amazing life we shared.
The mountains we climbed.
The hills we walked.
The countries we travelled through.
The roads we drove.
The Nürburgring laps.
The rallying.
The laughter.
The adventures.
Thanks for everything my best friend,
Love,
Jozzer xxx
Mark Johnson
25/08/2026
