Much has been written over the last week regarding the sad loss of Benjamin Zephaniah.
I would like to pay tribute to this special human being on a local and personal level.
I first met Benjamin around 11 years ago a year after he had moved to this area.
I’d parked my car in Holbeach, on returning to my car he was getting in to his which was parked next to mine and I introduced myself.
We soon found we had lots in common and from there our friendship developed over the years.
Benjamin was a very private person and always wished to live under the radar choosing Lincolnshire to live away from the spotlight.
Eight years ago we opened our record shop just outside Spalding and we knew straight away who we would like to officially open the store, not a politician, councillor or paid celeb but a true friend and supporter of our venture, Benjamin.
Again some years later I was asked by the trustees of the Holbeach charity bookshop if I could ask Benjamin if he would open their shop and again he gladly came along and did a splendid job giving them well deserved publicity.
One thing I’ll always remember was his amazing smile and sense of humour.
Whenever he visited our home we could always hear him coming in his old Triumph TR7 sports car roaring on to the drive.
He would sit in the garden and our Westie would stand and stare at him having never seen anyone that looked like him before, they loved each other.
Benjamin came to the record shop regularly and on one visit he was leaving the garden centre and just paying for his compost when his phone rang. He answered and told the lady he would call her back but she said: “No Benjamin this is important, your TV poetry programme has won a BAFTA!”
Benjamin then shouted: “I’ve won a BAFTA!” and the queue at the till in Baytree all shouted: “He’s won a BAFTA!”.
Benjamin loved living here in South Holland and once said that every time he drove over the blue bridge from Peterborough with the panoramic view of the fields ahead of him he felt so relaxed and happy as he crossed the border in to Lincolnshire.
We will remember this very special person who brought joy, humour, poetry and wisdom to so many people and we will be certain to celebrate his remarkable life for years to come.
Alan and Sharon Barnsdale
Uptown Records
