Tribute to Henk Potts

Henk and I met at the University of Kent at Canterbury over a game of pool if I remember. I made him laugh somehow. I can’t remember exactly but i may have tried “it’s like a nightmare isn’t it” color of money thing. Anyway, we became firm friends that year. I think Henk gravitated to people that could make him laugh. If you wanted a serious conversation Henk was not your man but boy we laughed. He “lent” me his bike so I could get to and back from the pub I worked in. A kindness that was dismissed I suspect in trademark Henk fashion. We played tennis. His “Samprash Smash” more a joyous concept than reality, his forehand drop slice repeatedly performed not because of its effectiveness, but rather for his amusement. Winning wasn’t the point, the point of the drop slice at any given moment was the joy of its silliness. we used to watch 15-1 with a bunch of folk and any classical music question that came up he would would answer with “The Enigma Variations” and the odd occasion when that was correct…I can’t tell you how much he laughed. For such a small period of time I have so many Henk memories… I guess that was because he somehow made the ordinary less ordinary. I suspect those that knew him will understand better than my limited writing skills can describe here. After Uni we met up more than a few times. Henk didn’t change it seemed to me. I pretended his work at Barclays continued to mostly be stamping cheques at a Barclays Branch from his apprenticeship days, despite the pad at the Isle of Dogs and his media presence. We still played tennis and the Sampras Smash was still the conceptual end goal of the game. We still laughed and laughed and nothing was ever to be serious. I’ll stop now before I cry too much at the thought of his passing. Thanks for everything Henk