My name is Shirley Jordan and I was one of John's colleagues. I vividly remember how kind John was to me when I joined the French department at Oxford Brookes University in 1996. We shared an office for a while when I first arrived and he was instrumental in helping me to settle in. I was always impressed by his warmth and sense of fun and I know how much his students appreciated his teaching too. I have one or two memories of him being very cross about this or that, and stomping about the office but he usually ended up laughing. The photograph on this site captures his mischievous grin, which I now remember. It is sad to learn that he has passed away, but nice to be invited to contribute a thought. Work commitments will prevent me from attending John's funeral and so it is very thoughtful to allow people access to the link so that they may pay their respects after the event.