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Peter Barnett 5thDan
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Birmingham
Peter,
At last the chance to put down on paper my feelings about you. As they say `revenge is a dish best eaten cold' and I have waited nearly twenty years for this opportunity.
In all my life I have never met a bigger, double dealing, back sliding, treacherous, rule bending, poor time keeping, but oh so loveable man. I wish I could say that words fail me but I have always managed to open my mouth and usually plant my size eleven's firmly in it and I shall not stint on this occasion.
You are really are loveable in all senses of the word. There were times when I could, as Les would say, "knock your lights out," especially in the early years when we were forced to do exercises at the end of the session to the shout of "only thirty seconds to go, lads, don't let me down," the longest and most painful thirty seconds I can recall. The charming and slippery way you then said, "well done lads, that was a good session," and I felt so proud to have been a part of that and forgave you for the pain.
Your endless patience when you said to me, "I would be better talking to the wall bars," and yet still coming back, trying to improve and question what we did. Your tolerance and humour keeps the enjoyment and still makes me strive to do better, not only at judo, but at times when it seems that all life is against us, I recall your grim and relentless capability to get up and start again.
I envy your striving towards perfection and remember the gritty feeling of returning from a competition with only a bronze medal and having to account to you how I lost. In my case I certainly got used to that, but remembering that some praise would filter out later in the day. I am pleased to say I have stopped competing for the time being but when I return I always feel better armed than the opposition because there was always you as well as me on the mat. I remember working my way to be in your view on the mat at Solihull and achieving a creditable attempt at a throw, looking for you only to find you were looking out of the window. Keith told me, years on, that you did it deliberately. even now the thought of all the effort makes me smile, thanks.
The best you gave me was that you could think your way about what to do, to every problem you helped us work out the answers, that is a skill I am envious of and I speak of you to others it is about your extraordinary ability of making the best of what each of us has to offer. In my own way that is something of you that I try to pass on, the legacy never ceases.
Your sense of humour is questionable at best and I have learned (and it took such a long time) not to divulge too much and listen to you twist it in front of every one else. For example, my alleged appearance as a cook on a TV show, the selling of toilet chemicals, my parole from prison with accompanying magistrate and so on and so on. It would be good to say I forgive you for all the untruths that caused you so much fun, but, frankly, I don't.
Above all else, I enjoy being with you. I am grateful to you for the way you change my values both in judo and in my life, your quietness and gentleness that you show, I treasure. As Geoff often used to say of you, "primus inter pares," and not just about the judo.
He certainly got that right.
Andy