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| John Hodges & Sir Patrick Moore |
I've spent most of it, 10-12hrs a day cataloguing my photographic archives, which to date stand at 7TB!! I have a long way to go.
Much of it is my travel and wildlife adventures but also from my previous lives, captured moments with friends and family, as a musician and of course my life with my partner Pilar Bueno.
I also have a large collection of photo snapshots (before I knew how to use a camera) with many of my heroes that along my lifes journey, I have been fortunate to have met, many I've painted portraits of which are now autographed and sit in my collection. I've met most of the musicians that inspired me, well, the ones that are/were alive. I've occasionally visited their private homes.
Looking through the photo albums I have to admit it seems a little surreal, I know it all happened but it's like looking at someone else's life, life is weird, how it changes and takes you to places unimaginable as a young boy.
I've been asked many times by the people that know me, 'did I get star struck?', the simple answer is not really. Sure there has been quite a few 'pinch me' moments when it dawned on me I'm chatting to an Icon, but I tried not to show that too much, trying to treat them like normal people, which they are. I think this attitude really worked and was respected, it offered up many personal experiences and access that maybe I wouldn't have gotten if I'd have been dumbstruck and giggly (that must get so boring for them).
The people that did excite me most to meet are my idols from the scientific fields, Sir David Attenborough, Richard Dawkins and my dear old friend Sir Patrick Moore. True legends and inspiration to me on every level.
Sadly, Sir Patrick Moore passed away December 9th 2012, he was 89yrs old.
My story of a true English Gentleman
On a Tuesday afternoon in spring 2005, while I was busy taking care of my chaotic business matters, my phone chirped into life.
"Hello"
"Ahhh hello, is that John Hodges, this is Patrick Moore" like I didn't recognise his distinct voice from watching 100's of episodes of his iconic BBC program Sky At Night.
"I've just read your kind letter and wondered if you have time in your schedule to come and visit with me at Farthings" (his cottage).
Holy Crap!!! I'd been invited to Patrick's home in Selsey by the man himself and now I have to talk to him on the phone!
"err.....yes, hello" I spluttered, "I'd love to when would be convenient?"
"Anytime, I don't get out much nowadays, the old body isn't what it used to be, arthritis you see gets us all".
Of course, I accepted instantly and we arranged a date, the coming Friday. I thanked him, probably overdoing it in my flustered state.
"Wonderful, I look forward to it immensely, I'll have some lunch prepared for us, safe journey and I'll see you soon"
"Thank you for calling Patrick, see you Friday".
"Jolly good" and the phone went silent.
I slumped in my chair hardly believing what had just taken place. His unique voice ringing in my ears and my chest was pounding from the adrenaline pumping through my body.
Some of my earliest memories with my late father was watching Patrick on the BBC. He opened the window to Astronomy and the scientific universe to my young and inquisitive mind. I spent the next hour excitedly phoning my mother, sister, Pilar and anybody else who'd listen to me rant with excitement.
Now that was an exciting Tuesday afternoon I can tell you, when I called Pilar who was in her office, I was excited like a little girl. It's not every day you have a Knight of the Realm and a personal hero call you at home. I remember it vividly to this day.
It then dawned on me, I hadn't finished his portrait.
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| My portrait he autographed for me and now proudly hangs in our dining room |
The rest of the day it was my sole focus, it was all a bit of a blur. That night I couldn't sleep. I wanted to take Patrick a gift, something personal to remember me by. I decided to paint his beloved cottage 'Farthings' to present to him, I spent the rest of the night painting. In retrospect, not my best work but I had little in the way of reference photos and time to get it done and dried. All in all, I was happy and Patrick only knew about the portrait I'd written about, perfect.
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| The painting of Farthings I gifted Patrick |
Cut to Friday, midday....ist
After a 3+hr journey to Selsey on the south coast, parking my car in the residential road alongside his property, I nervously knocked on the door to his famous residence. His housekeeper answered, she was expecting me and told me to go along the wooden panelled hallway to Patricks' studio at the end.
I knocked.
"John, come in I've been waiting, nice to see you, did you have a good journey?
"yes, no problems, thank you for the invite".
I walked over and across his desk I shook his hand, insisting that there was no need to get up. It was then I noticed his crumpled, arthritic hands. This once vibrant, Churchillian figure was now more or less confined to his desk
He noticed that I noticed and for a moment I felt embarrassed, he put me at ease, "bloody arthritis, bloody nuisance, I can't use my telescopes any more but at least I can still use the Woodstock (typewriter), small blessings"
He put in his famous eye monocle and instantly transformed from this grey-haired old man sat in a leather swivel chair to the famous TV icon before my eyes. His Pathe' news, clipped diction was not what it once was and occasionally was hard to discern, but there he was a genuine, broadcasting Legend.
"I'm so honoured Patrick, I've been a fan of your work all my life", it crossed my mind, I wonder how many times he'd heard that before?
"yes, yes would you like a drink, what's your tipple?"
"Oh, err, whatever you're having"
"Gin and Tonic, not too early is it?"
"No, great, I need it after the journey"
It was too early, but I wasn't about to refuse. I'd hardly caught my breath and was a little overwhelmed. I was sat in the study that I felt like I knew from the 100's of 'Sky At Night' broadcasts filmed from there, about to raise a glass with Sir Patrick 'bloody' Moore.
Behind Patrick in the bay window sat his famous Woodstock typewriter on which he'd wrote his many books and important astronomical papers. His Knighthood was simply framed and hanging to his left and his beloved cat, Ptolemy was sat purring on my lap........SURREAL!
For the next several hours we talked about everything, he was very interested in my life, interests and listened intently. This kind of surprised me but this was the real Patrick who deeply cared about people and animals. I steered the conversation back to him and he proceeded to tell me with great passion about his incredible life, telling me personal stories in his unique and very humorous way. he was a great storyteller, not mincing his words in any way. He was also extremely humble and referred to himself as an enthusiast amateur. Some of his recollections were hardly believable, they were so incredible and yet I knew they were all true. How many people can say they've jammed with Einstein, and also have the Appollo astronauts as personal friends?
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| Ptolemy, Patricks gorgeous and friendly cat |
“I think I am the only person alive who has met the first man in space, the first man on the moon, the first man who flew, and then Albert Einstein.”
Follow that!!!!
After a couple of hours, Patrick asked me if I'd like to go and open up his observatories and take a look at his telescopes. Would I??? He also said that he'd like to change clothes to be more comfortable. He passed me a large set of keys and told me "take your time, no rush, go where you like, you have the keys."
I wandered out into the well-kept garden but I was focused on the large observation domes. Unlocking the padlocks it dawned on me these scientific instruments had helped map the moon for the Appollo missions. That day they lay still, showing the signs of age and entropy like their owner. Notebooks lay open on the edges of the dome. I wiped away some cobwebs and sat on the concrete floor, lost in my thoughts. What had been seen, mysteries explored through the lens of these icons of the astronomical world.
I have no idea how long I sat there, it seemed like ages. I was aware that Patrick would need help changing from his housekeeper so I didn't want to disturb his privacy.
After what must have been 40 minutes I returned to his house and eased open the door to his studio. The great man had his chin on his chest, peacefully dozing. He'd changed from the more formal white shirt and dark green, cricket-themed tie (which I now own) to a hippy style, purple moo-moo, this made me smile, a unique English eccentric.
I tried to slip out to leave him in peace.
As I turned my back to leave he spluttered back to consciousness,
"John, where are you going? I was just resting my eyes, excuse me, my mind is sharp but this old body lets me down, sit down, I have some lunch and drinks coming"
With bent fingers, he placed his monocle between his eyebrow and check and clasped down and smiled.
"Old war wound, a gift from the Croats has now left me stuck in my chair, I was playing cricket not so long ago until my back gave in, I used to cycle everywhere. I could bowl a damn good googley"
For the rest of the afternoon, he told me about his travels, the war, the only love of his life that he lost, another pointless casualty of the war. He deeply expressed his hatred of hunting and animal cruelty which made me admire him even more.
I can still hear his tired voice, laughing and the absurdity of politicians of which he had little time.
Until his death in 2012 I visited once again several times, I was always welcomed like an old friend and we'd pick up with "so tell me what have you been up to, how's the family"
He would occasionally call the house and always on New Year to wish us good health. He startled my mother and Pilar a few times when they answered the phone and heard his distinctive tones.
I miss him and even though in reality I hardly knew him for any time, he made a great and lasting impression on me. Here was a man who had given his life to the science and understanding and exploration of Space. A true pioneer with over 700 Sky At Night broadcasts, a record. Along with David Attenborough and Carl Sagan, a genuine educator to mankind. I'm so proud to be able to say he was my friend.
In his old age, because of his legendary generosity, he'd been left in financial problems. His great friend Brian May (Queen guitarist) steeped in the help his friend financially in the later years.
Recently I started to wonder what had happened to his estate and the painting of his home that I gifted him. During my search, I found the necktie that he was wearing when we first met. I have yet to find out where my painting ended up.
Below is a 2015 statement from Brian May which explains as part executor what has happened to Patricks estate.
If anybody reading this blog knows what happened to my painting please get in touch, it would mean the world to me.
R.I.P. my friend Sir Patrick Moore
John Hodges
PATRICK MOORE LEGACY
PATRICK MOORE LEGACY
Brian May
Oct 2015
Oct 2015
Hello, all who loved Sir Patrick Moore. Brian May here.
Since there has been a lot of speculation out there in the media about Sir Patrick Moore’s Will and estate, and, sadly, a lot of misleading information has appeared, I’d like to offer this as an update, addressed to all who are interested in the great man’s legacy.
We’re now close to finalising the realisation of all the provisions of Patrick’s Will, but it’s been a long haul, since some of it was so complicated, and, two years later, we’re still addressing the remaining unsolved problems (thankfully all small ones now) in winding up dear Patrick’s affairs. We’re a small bunch of devotees, we whom Patrick appointed as his executors, and I can tell you that everything that we’ve put in place has been worked on with a great deal of love and care.
I’m not going to pretend that much of the credit is due to me. Patrick’s close friend and now retired solicitor David McCahearty has devoted immense amounts of time to sort out all the various areas, and ‘devoted’ is the word. The truth is, without his work, we would all be in chaos at this point, and all the money might have disappeared! (I’ll explain why, later.) I should point out that neither David nor I are beneficiaries of the will, so we don’t stand to profit in any way from it. Patrick did, however, name beneficiaries – a small group of chaps whom Patrick ‘adopted’ as his honorary Godsons. Patrick took care of them in life and in death.
The Science Museum
Our central achievement, I think, is the now finalised major arrangement with the Science Museum for the core of Patrick’s ‘professional’ effects (even though he insisted to the end he was an amateur !). The Science Museum’s intent is to mount a permanent ‘shrine’ to Patrick, and also to make the core of his observations and his collection permanently available to scholars. And so we will eventually see if the Science Museum keeps their promise, a permanent national monument to Patrick in the most important public science facility in Britain. I think it would make him smile.
As I’ll explain more fully later, we had to give up our initial idea of converting Farthings into some kind of study centre or memorial for Patrick. It was simply impractical for a number of reasons. But I think we achieved something much better.
The Science Museum spent months sifting through thousands of items in Patrick’s library and collection, to ascertain which of his belongings constituted the central core of his life and work. As Patrick’s executors, we finally handed this core collection over to the Science Museum earlier this year, in return for a sum of money which is dedicated to founding, as agreed by of all the trustees, the Patrick Moore Heritage Trust. The PMHT has now been fully incorporated by David as a charity, to act as a channel for inspirational work in Astronomy on Patrick’s behalf – a scheme which Patrick thoroughly approved personally while he was still in operational health. This is something Patrick himself was very excited about. We were able to set it in motion with him while he was still alive, with his full participation and approval, rather than wait for his demise to begin putting the project together.
Chichester Planetarium
Some special items relating to Patrick’s work we then earmarked as donations to Patrick’s favourite project in his latter years … the Chichester Planetarium. Patrick spent a lot of his own money helping this splendid institution to get started, under the leadership of eminent astronomer Dr. John Mason, and he also spent much of his spare time contributing to its development. If you visit (highly recommended), the first thing you see when you walk in will be the very convincing waxwork of Patrick, looking every inch the way he used to look when he was delivering a talk to a bunch of young astronomers. We believe this small but busy planetarium is one of the best possible living monuments to Patrick’s lifelong commitment to Astronomy. Every year it gives thousands of young students their first taste of the wonders of the Universe – and doubtless at this very moment is inspiring the next generation of Astronomers – as Patrick himself did for over half a century. As of today, there are exciting new developments at the planetarium as it looks as if permission will be granted for it to expand to accommodate a study centre wing, plus the possibility of a unique astronomical garden and a small museum.
We’re now close to finalising the realisation of all the provisions of Patrick’s Will, but it’s been a long haul, since some of it was so complicated, and, two years later, we’re still addressing the remaining unsolved problems (thankfully all small ones now) in winding up dear Patrick’s affairs. We’re a small bunch of devotees, we whom Patrick appointed as his executors, and I can tell you that everything that we’ve put in place has been worked on with a great deal of love and care.
I’m not going to pretend that much of the credit is due to me. Patrick’s close friend and now retired solicitor David McCahearty has devoted immense amounts of time to sort out all the various areas, and ‘devoted’ is the word. The truth is, without his work, we would all be in chaos at this point, and all the money might have disappeared! (I’ll explain why, later.) I should point out that neither David nor I are beneficiaries of the will, so we don’t stand to profit in any way from it. Patrick did, however, name beneficiaries – a small group of chaps whom Patrick ‘adopted’ as his honorary Godsons. Patrick took care of them in life and in death.
The Science Museum
Our central achievement, I think, is the now finalised major arrangement with the Science Museum for the core of Patrick’s ‘professional’ effects (even though he insisted to the end he was an amateur !). The Science Museum’s intent is to mount a permanent ‘shrine’ to Patrick, and also to make the core of his observations and his collection permanently available to scholars. And so we will eventually see if the Science Museum keeps their promise, a permanent national monument to Patrick in the most important public science facility in Britain. I think it would make him smile.
As I’ll explain more fully later, we had to give up our initial idea of converting Farthings into some kind of study centre or memorial for Patrick. It was simply impractical for a number of reasons. But I think we achieved something much better.
The Science Museum spent months sifting through thousands of items in Patrick’s library and collection, to ascertain which of his belongings constituted the central core of his life and work. As Patrick’s executors, we finally handed this core collection over to the Science Museum earlier this year, in return for a sum of money which is dedicated to founding, as agreed by of all the trustees, the Patrick Moore Heritage Trust. The PMHT has now been fully incorporated by David as a charity, to act as a channel for inspirational work in Astronomy on Patrick’s behalf – a scheme which Patrick thoroughly approved personally while he was still in operational health. This is something Patrick himself was very excited about. We were able to set it in motion with him while he was still alive, with his full participation and approval, rather than wait for his demise to begin putting the project together.
Chichester Planetarium
Some special items relating to Patrick’s work we then earmarked as donations to Patrick’s favourite project in his latter years … the Chichester Planetarium. Patrick spent a lot of his own money helping this splendid institution to get started, under the leadership of eminent astronomer Dr. John Mason, and he also spent much of his spare time contributing to its development. If you visit (highly recommended), the first thing you see when you walk in will be the very convincing waxwork of Patrick, looking every inch the way he used to look when he was delivering a talk to a bunch of young astronomers. We believe this small but busy planetarium is one of the best possible living monuments to Patrick’s lifelong commitment to Astronomy. Every year it gives thousands of young students their first taste of the wonders of the Universe – and doubtless at this very moment is inspiring the next generation of Astronomers – as Patrick himself did for over half a century. As of today, there are exciting new developments at the planetarium as it looks as if permission will be granted for it to expand to accommodate a study centre wing, plus the possibility of a unique astronomical garden and a small museum.
Moore Music, Cricket, and Herschel
Another special area to consider was Patrick’s music. Well, it’s been well taken care of. We have entrusted all Patrick’s manuscripts of Patrick’s musical compositions to his favourite protégé, xylophonist Chris Beaumont, who has been keeping Patrick’s music alive in his live performances. We have safety copies of everything lodged in my archives. We also headed Patrick’s favourite Xylophone Chris’s way. I have also archived (alongside Queen treasures) all the recorded works that we have been able to find, and we are in the process of safety-copying all of them too.
Yet another special area? Cricket. Patrick was a real enthusiast and had a reputation for being a spectacularly bad batsman but a mean bowler of that odd delivery Known as a Googly. We donated his beloved cricket bat to his favourite institution - the Selsey Cricket Club.
And one more! Patrick had a special regard for the eminent Victorian astronomer William Herschel. He devoted much time to helping the small but fascinating Herschel Museum in Bath and became their patron. After Patrick passed on, the Herschel Museum asked me to take over as their Patron. Among Patrick’s treasures were a number of items which related directly to Herschel. We all agreed that these should be donated to the Museum, to be enjoyed by its visitors.
Remainders
After all this, there still remained another large part of the collection which constituted the most saleable of Patrick’s other collected effects; some of this material is what we consigned to be sold at Christie's (totally incorrectly referred to in the media as “Patrick’s Worldly Goods"), and the remainder is to be auctioned in Chichester. These are mostly personal things; we felt Patrick would be happy if his many thousands of his fans had a chance to acquire something small as a keepsake.
This, in turn, left us with one more task: to sensibly dispose of the remaining largely unsaleable stuff, from random books not associated with his work and not otherwise special, down to stacks of photocopies of journals, and old newspapers, etc. Anyone who has dealt with executing a relative’s Will knows that you eventually get down to things like tissue dispensers and old picture frames, which are not easy to find homes for, and in the end are best dealt with in small bundles, sent to charity shops and the like.
There has always been a risk that the total receipts from Patrick’s chattels would not even cover the costs of the administration in disposing of them, and of course, we still cannot be sure what the monies from Christies, etc, will amount to. But I believe that we will have sufficient to cover it, and also some money left over to enable the Heritage Trust to begin its work.
Far Things
As many people close to Patrick know, he was a very generous man, sometimes to the point of folly! Although he made a significant income during his life from his books and other projects, towards the end of his life he found himself in a position where he could no longer sustain his outgoings. All of us who were close to Patrick blanched at the thought of this great man spending his last days in an old people’s home, rather than staying in his home and workplace, affectionately named ‘Farthings’, with the thinly disguised alternative meaning “Far Things” – this being typical of Patrick’s gentle humour. He was above all, productive – that’s what he lived for. You might have thought that being a Knight of the Realm, and one of the most celebrated figures in Britain, people in high places would have stepped in and made sure his welfare was taken care of. But not so. At this point, realising the tragedy that was imminent, I secretly offered to bail him out. I bought first a strip of his garden to give him some ready cash, but then things continued to get worse, so I then bought the house and remaining land from Patrick and leased it back to him for a peppercorn rent, so he never had to worry about money again. To safeguard the money (so Patrick couldn’t give it all away !), the cash was put in his accountant’s care to be paid in yearly instalments to Patrick for his day to day upkeep and other calls. We had no idea how long his life was to be at that point, but in fact, the instalments were to enable him to live comfortably in his beloved Farthings to the very end of his days. The arrangement was secret for some years but was eventually ‘exposed’ by some busybody newspaper reporter. The relatively small amount of cash left in Patrick’s accounts when he died goes directly to the four beneficiaries (only two of whom are also executors), split equally. His possessions, on the other hand, he directed to be disposed of by his executors as they saw fit. Patrick was not survived by any close relatives.
Just to fill in the gaps, we have all (David, John Mason and myself) spent the last 2 years trying to find a way for Farthings to be part of a monument of some kind to Patrick. All the proposals we have considered have come to a dead end, including the originally enthusiastic approaches of the local council. I am now convinced it is never going to happen. In the location of Farthings, there is simply no way to make the house sustainable as a study centre, museum or monument. It sits in a residential area, and so cannot be converted into commercial premises, it has no possibility of dedicated parking, and all our advice was that it would simply lose money consistently on upkeep and staffing, until it fell into disuse, obliterating the Heritage Trust’s funds, and becoming an embarrassment for Patrick’s memory. There have been a few armchair philosophers out there saying ‘it was Patrick’s dying wish that the house becomes a study centre’ … but of course all of us close to him know that this is simply not true. Patrick’s prime concerns, in order of priority, were Ptolemy - his beloved pussycat - and his library. These were absolutely OUR priorities, and we believe his hopes are admirably fulfilled.
So the only other major problem to be solved is how to dispose decently of the empty house, Farthings. Unfortunately, it’s my problem! I have now decided to bite the bullet and put it on the market, but with certain constraints. I’m considering putting covenants on the property, to try to prevent the land being sold on and split up for more dense, moneymaking housebuilding, which would have bothered Patrick, I’m sure, and would make life horrible for his neighbours. I’m sad to have to sell it at all, but I can’t live in it, and I believe we have now exhausted the exploration of all other possible futures for the house. Of course, if someone came up with a workable plan to buy the house, keep it intact, and make it useable by the scientific community, I’d be all ears. But I don’t believe it will happen. I would be happy, and I believe so would Patrick, if it makes a home for a growing family – the kind of family Patrick once dreamed of raising.
His last gruff words to me about the house were “I don’t want the house to be a rope around your neck, Brian. You should sell it for a profit. I would never have allowed you buy it from me unless that were the case”. I told him I really wouldn’t feel comfortable making a profit out if it; the whole point had been to preserve his quality of life, precious to us all. So that’s how we left it. He once again after that asked me to try to ensure his collection of ‘special’ books was preserved intact and accessible - his library. But he was astute and realised that this might not mean that it remained physically in the house. I believe his library is headed to the place where it will be most appreciated and most useful to future generations of astronomers - The Science Museum. Supposing the sale of Farthings does show a profit, I have it in mind to donate that to the Chichester Planetarium for their expansion plans. I think that would be fitting.
Patrick’s legacy
So I believe we have, by due attentions, done our very best for Patrick’s legacy, and by the time we’re finished, we will have done him proud. His legacy will be immortality in the Science Museum, his work preserved for the Nation, a thriving, teaching Chichester Planetarium, probably with at least a new wing added in his name, The Patrick Moore Heritage Trust, the continuation of the performance of his musical compositions, together with the protection of his recorded works, with a view to a reissue at some point, and his myriad archived appearances on The Sky At Night and other TV and Radio shows. But most of all, we all know that his greatest legacy is the current generation of top British astronomers, amateur and professional, who credit Patrick as their original inspiration to do what they do now.
All Hail Sir Patrick !
Very best
Brian
Another special area to consider was Patrick’s music. Well, it’s been well taken care of. We have entrusted all Patrick’s manuscripts of Patrick’s musical compositions to his favourite protégé, xylophonist Chris Beaumont, who has been keeping Patrick’s music alive in his live performances. We have safety copies of everything lodged in my archives. We also headed Patrick’s favourite Xylophone Chris’s way. I have also archived (alongside Queen treasures) all the recorded works that we have been able to find, and we are in the process of safety-copying all of them too.
Yet another special area? Cricket. Patrick was a real enthusiast and had a reputation for being a spectacularly bad batsman but a mean bowler of that odd delivery Known as a Googly. We donated his beloved cricket bat to his favourite institution - the Selsey Cricket Club.
And one more! Patrick had a special regard for the eminent Victorian astronomer William Herschel. He devoted much time to helping the small but fascinating Herschel Museum in Bath and became their patron. After Patrick passed on, the Herschel Museum asked me to take over as their Patron. Among Patrick’s treasures were a number of items which related directly to Herschel. We all agreed that these should be donated to the Museum, to be enjoyed by its visitors.
Remainders
After all this, there still remained another large part of the collection which constituted the most saleable of Patrick’s other collected effects; some of this material is what we consigned to be sold at Christie's (totally incorrectly referred to in the media as “Patrick’s Worldly Goods"), and the remainder is to be auctioned in Chichester. These are mostly personal things; we felt Patrick would be happy if his many thousands of his fans had a chance to acquire something small as a keepsake.
This, in turn, left us with one more task: to sensibly dispose of the remaining largely unsaleable stuff, from random books not associated with his work and not otherwise special, down to stacks of photocopies of journals, and old newspapers, etc. Anyone who has dealt with executing a relative’s Will knows that you eventually get down to things like tissue dispensers and old picture frames, which are not easy to find homes for, and in the end are best dealt with in small bundles, sent to charity shops and the like.
There has always been a risk that the total receipts from Patrick’s chattels would not even cover the costs of the administration in disposing of them, and of course, we still cannot be sure what the monies from Christies, etc, will amount to. But I believe that we will have sufficient to cover it, and also some money left over to enable the Heritage Trust to begin its work.
Far Things
As many people close to Patrick know, he was a very generous man, sometimes to the point of folly! Although he made a significant income during his life from his books and other projects, towards the end of his life he found himself in a position where he could no longer sustain his outgoings. All of us who were close to Patrick blanched at the thought of this great man spending his last days in an old people’s home, rather than staying in his home and workplace, affectionately named ‘Farthings’, with the thinly disguised alternative meaning “Far Things” – this being typical of Patrick’s gentle humour. He was above all, productive – that’s what he lived for. You might have thought that being a Knight of the Realm, and one of the most celebrated figures in Britain, people in high places would have stepped in and made sure his welfare was taken care of. But not so. At this point, realising the tragedy that was imminent, I secretly offered to bail him out. I bought first a strip of his garden to give him some ready cash, but then things continued to get worse, so I then bought the house and remaining land from Patrick and leased it back to him for a peppercorn rent, so he never had to worry about money again. To safeguard the money (so Patrick couldn’t give it all away !), the cash was put in his accountant’s care to be paid in yearly instalments to Patrick for his day to day upkeep and other calls. We had no idea how long his life was to be at that point, but in fact, the instalments were to enable him to live comfortably in his beloved Farthings to the very end of his days. The arrangement was secret for some years but was eventually ‘exposed’ by some busybody newspaper reporter. The relatively small amount of cash left in Patrick’s accounts when he died goes directly to the four beneficiaries (only two of whom are also executors), split equally. His possessions, on the other hand, he directed to be disposed of by his executors as they saw fit. Patrick was not survived by any close relatives.
Just to fill in the gaps, we have all (David, John Mason and myself) spent the last 2 years trying to find a way for Farthings to be part of a monument of some kind to Patrick. All the proposals we have considered have come to a dead end, including the originally enthusiastic approaches of the local council. I am now convinced it is never going to happen. In the location of Farthings, there is simply no way to make the house sustainable as a study centre, museum or monument. It sits in a residential area, and so cannot be converted into commercial premises, it has no possibility of dedicated parking, and all our advice was that it would simply lose money consistently on upkeep and staffing, until it fell into disuse, obliterating the Heritage Trust’s funds, and becoming an embarrassment for Patrick’s memory. There have been a few armchair philosophers out there saying ‘it was Patrick’s dying wish that the house becomes a study centre’ … but of course all of us close to him know that this is simply not true. Patrick’s prime concerns, in order of priority, were Ptolemy - his beloved pussycat - and his library. These were absolutely OUR priorities, and we believe his hopes are admirably fulfilled.
So the only other major problem to be solved is how to dispose decently of the empty house, Farthings. Unfortunately, it’s my problem! I have now decided to bite the bullet and put it on the market, but with certain constraints. I’m considering putting covenants on the property, to try to prevent the land being sold on and split up for more dense, moneymaking housebuilding, which would have bothered Patrick, I’m sure, and would make life horrible for his neighbours. I’m sad to have to sell it at all, but I can’t live in it, and I believe we have now exhausted the exploration of all other possible futures for the house. Of course, if someone came up with a workable plan to buy the house, keep it intact, and make it useable by the scientific community, I’d be all ears. But I don’t believe it will happen. I would be happy, and I believe so would Patrick, if it makes a home for a growing family – the kind of family Patrick once dreamed of raising.
His last gruff words to me about the house were “I don’t want the house to be a rope around your neck, Brian. You should sell it for a profit. I would never have allowed you buy it from me unless that were the case”. I told him I really wouldn’t feel comfortable making a profit out if it; the whole point had been to preserve his quality of life, precious to us all. So that’s how we left it. He once again after that asked me to try to ensure his collection of ‘special’ books was preserved intact and accessible - his library. But he was astute and realised that this might not mean that it remained physically in the house. I believe his library is headed to the place where it will be most appreciated and most useful to future generations of astronomers - The Science Museum. Supposing the sale of Farthings does show a profit, I have it in mind to donate that to the Chichester Planetarium for their expansion plans. I think that would be fitting.
Patrick’s legacy
So I believe we have, by due attentions, done our very best for Patrick’s legacy, and by the time we’re finished, we will have done him proud. His legacy will be immortality in the Science Museum, his work preserved for the Nation, a thriving, teaching Chichester Planetarium, probably with at least a new wing added in his name, The Patrick Moore Heritage Trust, the continuation of the performance of his musical compositions, together with the protection of his recorded works, with a view to a reissue at some point, and his myriad archived appearances on The Sky At Night and other TV and Radio shows. But most of all, we all know that his greatest legacy is the current generation of top British astronomers, amateur and professional, who credit Patrick as their original inspiration to do what they do now.
All Hail Sir Patrick !
Very best
Brian
