I have known my best friend Peter White-Whitey-for over forty-five years. Some of you have known Whitey for even longer and know we all have been blessed and rewarded by these friendships. His love of life and his affection for his family, friends and all animals inspired all of us.

Whitey was the most upbeat, gung-ho, always “on” friend I have ever had. You could not be around Whitey and not be affected by his spirit of adventure and “let’s do something” attitude. These traits lead us on some amazing adventures as we would always venture forth acting as if we knew exactly what we were doing. Read instructions-never. Ask directions-never. Succeed despite ourselves-most of the time.

Some of the adventures with Whitey that immediately come to mind:
• Herding cows around the fields at Balstone with nary a clue as to what we were doing.
• Trying to drive a speed boat away from the marina in Javea where it had been in for repairs. Only problem was the steering was reversed so when we turned right, we went left and vis-a-versa. Wonder what happened to that boat?
• Sailing across the English Channel with an inexperienced crew. Do not ask how close the freighter was that passed us in the middle of the night on the way home.
• Leaving a bar in Javea and realizing that we had not paid for our drinks. Our conclusion was that this gave us an excuse to return on another trip. We did and we did pay.
• Running out of gas on our way from our hotel to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. We hitch hiked and a local stopped and gave us a ride in the back of his pick-up truck.
• The joy watching Peter and my son David battle their wits in the “The Brain of Britain” vs. “The Brain of the USA” trivia contest which over the years evolved into “the Brain of the Universe” contest.
• Roaring down a French motorway in an Audi estate at well over one hundred miles per hour when the mobile phone rang, and we were instructed to “take good care of that car as it had just been sold”.
• The expression on Whitey’s face when I arrived at the front door of Los Almerdros a few days after his heart attack. I was afraid he was going to have a second attack. He and Ann had to stay extra days because of my flight schedule so we did as always. We shopped, we ate, we drank, and we laughed.

These are just a few of my many memories of being with Whitey. My life has been enhanced and I am truly blessed to have been able to be with my best friend. Although we were thousands of miles apart most of the time, we were always in each other’s heart. I miss you. Love Alan Brown