Thank you Russ, you have reflected our thoughts very well. His passing is a
sad loss of a good person and he will be missed. Ever generous with his
thoughts and time, there are many instances when his ever cheerful demeanour
has given me a lift when I have been a bit down. Quite often when his own
situation was worse than my own. His concern was always for others. Truly a
kind friend.
Tony.
-----Original Message-----
From: Birding-Aus On Behalf Of
Russell Woodford
Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2016 10:24 PM
To: Bill Stent
Cc:
Subject: Vale John Gamblin
Farewell, JAG. A sad day for us all. We've lost someone who cared - about
birds and animals around him, without favour; about the environment; and
most of all, about people.
John looked after so many injured and abandoned creatures, and others have
written about Eggy, who I was lucky enough to meet (but I'm not sure which
generation of "Eggy" it was!). I have lots of wonderful memories of JAG.
His baffling posts to birding-aus in the early days, ringing him to ask how
to care for several escaped cockatiels that kept turning up in our yard, and
later asking him again how to tend to a couple that had been injured.
Visiting him on his birthday, with my daughter, and having fish and chips in
the twilight in front of his house, with all sorts of animals quite
comfortable in our presence and each others' presence. His crazy puns on
Facebook once he'd moved to that forum (and how much joy it gave him we can
only guess at). And just a couple of weeks ago, a wonderful barbecue that
JAG hosted at his own expense, with neighbours, friends, and a bunch of
birders who call ourselves the Mad Buggers - it may have been John who first
used the term, I don't know, but it really sums him up. He was generous and
caring, peaceful and thought little for comfort or possessions. Just the
sort of person the rest of the world thinks is a bit "mad," but the sort of
person we need a lot more of.
And from today there is one less.
Rest in peace, JAG.
On 16 February 2016 at 18:19, Bill Stent <> wrote:
> This morning our friend John Gamblin passed away, after a lengthy illness.
>
> I first emailed John after having read one of his typically off-beat
> posts to Birding-Aus.
>
> The conversation lasted 15 years.
>
> Like many of us, I can say I've never met anyone who had such a
> different on-email and in-person demeanour. Receiving emails from
> John was equal parts hilarious and baffling. In person, John was
> thoughtful, lucid and caring, but always with a Goon Show-esque sense of
humour.
>
> The moderation team were lucky enough to spend Australia Day with
> John, who shouted us the entire barbecue. He was at that stage in
> palliative care, and was in fine form. He was just as chirpy on
> Saturday when I last saw him. He was chuckling cheekily about the
> prospect of Tony Russell ever seeing the Crested Honey-buzzard in
> Perth. I'm attaching a beautiful portrait of John taken by Ruth on
Australia Day. I hope Ruth doesn't mind.
>
> Good bye, John, I am honoured to have been your friend.
>
> Bill
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