Martin Strawson's Memorial Website

Martin and………………………… fond memories.

Martin and Food

We will never forget when we had arranged to go out for dinner in Harborne. Martin had recently moved to Harborne and said he would pop over for a swift pre-dinner drink. He turned up with 6 hot cross buns, an unusual gift! We put them to one side and thought, yum breakfast. We had a quick drink and went to the restaurant. Only later did we find out that Martin had intended for us to eat them all before dinner!

Martin loved a free food bargain when we were both working for Birmingham Uni he used to email me that there was free food stall outside the Aston Webb Building and I should meet him to fill our lunch boxes!!! The university also had numerous inaugural lectures. There was always free food at these events and Martin would try to attend as many as possible even if it was an arts subject. Being Martin he even learnt something useful for the next pub quiz.

Martin and Games

Scruples, scruples, scruples by far Martins favourite game. He loved the dilemma and investigating his friends’ moral qualms. A close second was trivial pursuit as Martin could demonstrate his insane amount of useful and useless trivia.

He was faced with his own moral dilemma when during his time renting in Harborne he believed that the neighbours downstairs were cultivating an illegal pot farm! He quickly had us round his house, sniffing at the windows and doors of the downstairs flat. We debated whether we should report it to the police. Once it became evident there was a possibility they may be siphoning off Martin’s electricity supply there was only one answer………….REPORT THEM.

Martin and Weekend breaks

Every year Martin joined a group of his friends to celebrate an early Christmas by hiring a cottage somewhere in the country. Part of the trip included the mammoth Friday shop to buy all the food and drink for the weekend. Martin never missed out on this part and over 6 years kept the receipts of each shopping trip. This made it possible to determine what was needed every year. This tradition has already, and will always, be continued by us and we will think of him as his writing is on the back of a receipt we have kept in honour of him.

Another annual event that Martin enjoyed taking part in was the camping trip that took place in Oxford. Even recovering from the appendix operation he had did not stop him attending the event one year. We are not sure if the consultant authorising his discharge realised he was about to spend the weekend in a damp field, sleeping on a roll mat. However he wouldn’t have missed it as the event was so much fun. A group of us would sit around the camp fire, with a bottle of red wine, and we would chat into the early hours. The weekend often involved punting down the river to the nearest pub. Martin of course would get involved and take part, even having a go at punting himself – even if this was a little unnerving for the rest of us in the punt!

We also smile when thinking about a wedding that we attended as guests with Martin. After the reception had been held we joined a group of the guests who continued to celebrate later into the night. The ‘celebrations’ included a game of cricket that began; even though by this point it was dark. The ball had been hit, and then ‘clunk’. Martin had been hit on the head trying to catch the ball. I am sure his work colleagues were surprised when he turned up to work after the weekend away, sporting a black eye! We miss you mate. Love Ian and Steph Hatherly

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