Stephanie Hayward

Godfather.

You can't stop a river from flowing to the sea,                                        Some things just happen and they're meant to be                               You're off on a journey, all things new                                                       The life you left behind will always remember you.                                  Deep down in my heart you'll never be gone                                             Godfather I promise your spirit will always live on!                                        As I need you to help keep me strong

When I'm feeling all alone and need some loving care                                   I'll look up to the sky above and know you'll be there                                   The brightest shiniest star will be you,                                                Watching over me and guiding me through                                                  It's so hard for me to smile and say goodbye                                          What am I meant to do without your love?                           

I love you Godfather, I will miss you                                                           Stephanie XXX

Frankie Jolly

Wow, where do I start, first of all, what a fantastic website dedicated to Chris Caswell.

I first met Chris in 1997 when I worked a summer season at Mill Rythe after helping Pete and the team out for a week the previous year - I soon realised this was the park I wanted to return to. After arriving in my damp little shed, I set off to meet the team. One of my first meetings with Chris was at his chalet which was three doors away and I remember his enormous welcome and the feeling that you had already known this guy for years.

Chris was the warmest and friendliest guy you could have ever met in your life. Nothing was too much trouble for him and I can honestly say I had never once seen him in a bad mood!!! Oh, except when Chris left his cleaning bag outside for Dec and I to hang up for him....(ahem)....which of course we did....... down the whole length of the pathway leading to the club. (Harrow block loved the view of his smalls hanging out to dry!) I also remember leaving him with a small stink bomb under his bed which of course displeased him. You could hear him shouting out "I'll get you two, nothing good will come of this." Even with all this going on, Chris had a great sense of humour and you could always guarantee a great laugh when he was in your company.

The day I found out about Chris I was devastated. I had truly lost a very good friend in my life. My wife to be and I had only finished making his place card for our wedding the night before as he would have been due to attend our wedding two weeks after his death. Chris was the most talented guy I had ever met, I never realised one man could play so many instruments...... totally amazing.

I have so many fantastic memories of Chris, watching him play in Hudsons bar and performing on stage, even socialising with him until the early hours. He was a great man, we even had a little saying whenever we met and he would say in the funniest Irish accent "I know your name!" I could go on forever about Chris as I have tons of memories of him and hopefully one day we will get to share them again.

Love you loads buddy, you truly were one of the best and I will never forget you. Rest in peace mate.

Stacey Jolly

I met Chris in 1999 when I worked at Mill Rythe.

There was a warmth about Chris that could instil confidence in young performers, he was patient and caring and a bloody good laugh too!

It's fair to say Chris would often be the butt of practical jokes, I have lost count of how many times I have seen Chris' socks and pants hanging on trees and bushes on the pathway to the ents staff accommodation at Mill Rythe. He was also victim to a number of stink bomb attacks if I remember correctly too! But, he would give as good as he got and he did the best prank calls in the worst Pakistani accent that I have ever heard (which would often leave us rolling around the floor of someone's chalet in fits of laughter!)

One of my best memories of Chris (and many will relate to this) is when we were trying to put together a new London themed show toward the end of season. It must have been about 2am , rehearsals weren't going well and we were all over tired and getting a little hysterical. Anyway we were working on the show opener, the idea was it would be a street scene - lots of hussle & bussle etc. Chris was asked to simply walk across the stage carrying a brief case as if he was 'off to work'.....simple. Cue music....one of us pushing a pram, another reading a newspaper etc etc. Enter Caswell. In the most 'natural' way he could think of Cas starts to walk across the stage taking elaborately huge strides with briefcase under one arm and the other arm swinging so high back and forth he could have wiped out the rest of the cast (he looked like a dodgy Russian spy!!) I cannot remember a time when I have laughed so much in my life, rehearsals came to a grinding halt as we all held our stomachs and laughed so much our heads hurt. Needless to say none of us could continue rehearsing and dear old Cas just loved the fact that he had amused us all so much!

After Mill Rythe our team reunions would bring us all together once a year and nothing ever changed, we'd talk about the Mill Rythe days, Cas would be singing over the disco tunes, fag and pint in hand, all of us arm in arm by the end of the night...happy times.

I haven't even touched on Caswell's enormous talent for music or the fact he could make a whole room silent with his rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone.

We don't have our dear friend here anymore but we do have some of the best memories that we will all re live for years to come."Nothing good will come of this" he would say.... well something pretty good happened the day we all met Chris Caswell. We will always be honoured to call him our friend.

This message was left anonymously

I met Chris probably less than ten times, however, he was one of those people that left an impression, not from being showy or flamboyant but from his enthusiasm and commitment. We usually ended up talking about Chris' work and I appreciated his advice and encouragement towards my own amateur endeavours as a drummer. Like a true professional, Chris was never condescending and wore his talent lightly. Looking at the tributes, I am not surprised to see he touched the lives of many people. Sadly, once again, it seems the good die young.

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