ALL things considered, last week was a sad old week, what with one thing and another.

There can’t be many people in this community whose lives were not touched in some way by Christopher Lakeman. Lawyer, political activist and later an articulate Member of the Big House, and latterly a hard-working chairman of the Opera House for a difficult five years or so, his virtues were many and varied.

A couple or so years back, Herself was involved in the organisation of some do or other which Christopher did little more than attend. The following day there arrived in the post at Chez Clement a card ‘from Christopher Lakeman’ in which he expressed his thanks for her hard work.

It was a graceful gesture, reminiscent, as she said at the time, of the courtesy of a bygone age – grace and courtesy sadly lacking in today’s speedy and greedy environment – and he never knew how much his kind thought was appreciated.

I voted for him when he stood for election in 1999 – one of the rare occasions on which I voted for someone to enter the political arena with no previous States experience – and I recall listening on the wireless to his often pithy contributions.

Like one of his predecessors as Senator, Bernard Binnington, he had perfected the art of saying in a few moments what others would labour over for a fortnight, or so it seemed. Often, his observations were funny. I remember laughing until I almost fell off my chair in The Shed when during one debate he said of an extremely complex matter that he was going to explain the proposition by way of a ‘Janet and John Book One’ speech, ‘so that we can be sure the Constables all understand it as well’.

As I said earlier, there can’t be many whose lives were not touched by what he said or what he did. When he decided to leave the States, I was one of many who were saddened by his decision but I hoped at that time that after a few years he would return. Sadly, that was not to be. I always felt that in the best tradition of political life until more recent times, he entered it because he felt he had a lot to give this Island.

I think that in everything he did, Christopher Lakeman gave much more to the Island he loved than he ever expected to take.

The other piece of sad news was the death of Jack Roche, and while he was almost exactly twice Christopher Lakeman’s age, that makes it no easier for those he leaves behind.

In terms of humour – and of being excellent company – both men were similar, and in their perhaps different ways both sought to serve their fellow men and women in politics and outside.

I can’t remember whether I read it or heard it but when Jack took over the presidency of the Fort Regent Committee, before it was consigned to a minister’s in tray, there to remain in perpetuity, he was also chairman of Jersey Coal Distributors – the outfit which used to lease the Fort’s parade ground as a coal dump.

Asked by someone if he was going once again to use the parade ground for storage, he replied something along the lines of ‘Oh no, at least not until the swimming pool’s full’.

This small rock has lost two of its generous sons and the place is a good deal poorer for their passing.