From Russell Grooms – friend and musician.
'It's the hardest thing in the world to put into words my thoughts and feelings for Brian, not because there's nothing to say but because I really don't know where to start. From being a musical influence, a comical genius and to being the hip Dad I never had, when I cast my mind back there are so many moments that I could highlight, from gate-crashing a party in the Fens after a particularly successful spot at the Cambridge Beer Festival to just sitting in the pub on a Sunday afternoon shooting the breeze. The fact that stands out the most is that I never really saw Brian down or upset. Very occasionally I would see a flash in his eyes that said, 'things could be better at the moment' but it was almost instantly replaced by a look that said 'but then again, they could be a lot worse' That was Brian, smiling as the shit came down.
In the last couple of years, I was able to offer Brian a place to sleep when he came to Whitstable and I'm so glad that I was able to do this by way of repaying the favour for all the times he found me passed out in various places around his house. Even in his 50's he was the embodiment of the lifestyle we've all craved from time to time, a true individual looking for his true path through life, regardless of the sacrifice to his own creature comforts.
I was brought up to believe that we are all put here to fulfil a role and when we have fulfilled it, we are called somewhere else, somewhere where we are needed more. With this in mind, I find comfort in believing that Brizy learnt his lessons quicker than most and in doing so fulfilled all that he was sent to do, on this earth at least.
If one thought remains it was when I spoke to Brian after breaking up with a long term girlfriend. He turned to me and said 'No matter what you do, don't sit there and cry into your beer. It's a waste of good beer'.
They say that you judge a man by the company he keeps. I'm sure that there's no doubt that we are all lesser people for having lost our dear friend Brizy.
Russell