The name Faull first became familiar to me in the 1960s: a new law firm had sprung up, Faull, Best & Knight. The trio was a breakaway from Theodore Goddard: Jeremy Faull - he was frank enough to admit in later years - was the one who asked for his name to be first, and so it came to pass. A decade or so later, the London solicitor turned himself into a Cornish farmer, immersing himself in local politics, and becoming the first Ecology Party County Councillor: Paul Tyler, now a Lib Dem peer, was the vanquished candidate. Retirement from farming gave Jeremy and his family the opportunity to make a more eco-friendly home for themselves over the road, a clever barn conversion, with the most beautiful view from its garden. And then there was the Wadebridge Bookshop, one of a dying breed, which he owned for many years, a great attraction to literary holidaymakers in North Cornwall: Jeremy presided there with quiet enthusiasm, making available to anyone in need his immense stock of knowledge and wise counsel. He truly loved life. Nobody quite matched his combination of sportsman, raconteur, bon viveur and radical thinker. He took the piss brilliantly too.
12 months ago, on our South Coast walk together, he was struggling for breath: that struggle intensified throughout this year, and today we heard the very sad news of his death. He, the most encouraging and constant friend anyone could hope to have, will be so very widely missed.
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