Stephen was born in London but grew up in Stamford, Lincolnshire and studied economics and psychology at Swansea University. After graduating he qualified to teach English as a foreign language and set off to Thailand for nine months and then to Turkey. Thereafter his life was one of work and travel in the far east with brief periods in the UK when he touched base with his family. For much of his time abroad he worked in Taiwan although he also spent time in South Korea and most recently, China. He had not long returned to Taipei and was in the process of applying for jobs when he died so suddenly in June. He was last home in the UK in October 2010 for his sister Suzy’s wedding which brought together the whole of our family for an exceptionally happy occasion for us all. The geographical distance between us limited how often he could come home and although we kept in regular touch by phone and email he was unable to make it to his sister Cathie’s wedding in 2012 and never met his niece, Iris who was born in 2011, or his nephew James who was born in June, only just before Stephen died. His name lives on as one of James’ middle names. Stephen developed epilepsy when he was eighteen, just before going to university, it was well controlled with medication in the UK and for most of the time while he was abroad, though he broke his arm quite badly while having a seizure two or three years ago and although he did have neurologist consultations in Taiwan and was able to obtain his medication without any difficulty while abroad, his condition may not have been monitored as thoroughly as it would have been in the UK . But we will never know whether that was a contributory factor to his death and we are so glad that in the time that he had he achieved such an interesting and rewarding life, traveling and working in a part of the world with which he had such an affinity. Stephen was quirky, humorous and very much his own man with strong opinions on some subjects and he could be scathing (often at some length) about individuals and institutions he did not approve of. But he was also caring and thoughtful and not particularly interested in accruing money or possessions above what he needed to enjoy his life as he wanted to live it. Needless to say, he is irreplaceable and will be so very much missed by family and friends. I have taken the liberty of copying a couple of the tributes paid by his friends in Taiwan on his Facebook page which I think capture his spirit: ‘Had some excellent chats with Stephen about anything and everything over the 12 or so years I knew the man - from bicycles to bars, from sandy beaches in Taiwan to space infinity, from the Taiwanese 'underworld' to the universe itself and many, many subjects and topics in between over a few cold ones over many a night. We shall maybe see you on 'the other side' sometime in the future my old friend for continued banter and craic.’ Paul & Xiao Lour ‘A gentleman of disarming charm, esoteric wit and memorable conversation, Steve will be sorely missed by many and my thoughts are with his family and friends. Steve once opined that, “It is one of life’s mysteries why reading a book on your own in a bar causes everyone to talk to you”. Quite.’ Gareth Price