"Eulogy" - given by minister Alan Wright Paul was born in Clacton on Sea on 18th March 1972, the fourth child of Jill and Ken and brother to Karin, Tracey and Nicola. He went to school at Burrsville Infant and Junior schools and then to Clacton County High School. Paul was a very happy and bright child and his sisters have many fond memories of their "baby" brother. His love of dancing began at a young age and when break-dancing was all the rage , he would carry around a piece of lino to perform on. Paul was very proud when at the age of 13, he competed in the final of the National Hula Hoop Championship at Alton Towers. He enjoyed two great skiing holidays in Europe whilst at school and quickly learned to ski quite well. Paul moved away from his home town in his late teens, first to Ilford, then Walthamstow and finally to North Chingford where he settled. His love of drama, music and dance led to the study of Performing Arts at Waltham Forest College, where he gained his BTEC National Diploma. He then joined a semi professional theatre group and assisted in the production of several plays. Over the next few years, Paul was unable to find his career niche and in 2001 he studied for and obtained a qualification in airline ticketing with British Airways. Unfortunately, not long after this, whilst Paul was seeking employment, he became ill with a serious lung infection and contracted a hospital bug following major surgery in October 2001. This led to severe infection of the brain in early 2002, from which he recovered after six weeks intensive treatment in the Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead. Unfortunately, as a result of the brain damage, Paul developed severe epilepsy in 2006 which led to a stark deterioration in his health and in turn, to his very untimely death at just 37 years old. Paul retained some good and loyal friends from his schooldays and teenage years, especially Lisa, Luey, Clair, Treena and Billy, making many more friends whilst living in Chingford. He loved spending time with them and their children, who all loved their Uncle Paul dearly. Paul loved going away to sunnier climates and his dream was to live and work in Spain. He always hoped that one day his health would improve enough to allow this move. In recent years he enjoyed several holidays to Spain and Greece. His last holiday was to Abu Dhabi in January 2008. He was looking forward to a holiday in Egypt with his oldest sister Karin and her family at the end of May this year, but sadly he died in April. Paul had a natural talent for writing poetry and over the years has written bookloads. His family would like to collate some of these poems into chronological order, to retain as a treasured keepsake in memory of Paul's life. The family wish to thank all of you here today for your love and support at this extremely difficult and heartbreaking time.