I could tell so many stories about John Bird or ‘Lord John Bird ‘ as I used to write on copies of orders I posted to him when all work was done on paper! There are honestly too many to write about but I’m going to let you know a few bits that made me smile. I have been welcomed into his practice and his home for 25 years when I 1st started work at Luxottica and we always had a laugh. We were friends from the beginning. He used to tell me about his record collection and talk to me about ‘Me and My Arrow’. He would sing songs that I’d never heard of! We used to have guessing games on the Etnia frames when I first started with Etnia. John used to hold the frame up and I used to have to work out the colour codes and shout them out. BKRD for black red as an example, we laughed for hours doing this! Not funny to anyone one else but we got much amusement from it. John then gave me the money for my car parking as he said I’d been there For hours, I said it was not necessary but he wouldn’t have it and made me take it, this is most unusual but shows his acts of kindness ,which to me meant so much. These among many more are fond memory’s for me. When I got Etnia it was tough as it was a new range to get practices to try it. Of course John Bird took it. He was forward thinking and knew it would be a success and he believed in me. I bought a cake and brought it into the practice as a thanks, he told me not to do it again as it was not necessary. He invited me, Daniel, John Rawson and Ros Rawson to go out to his local pub for a meal. John was our customer as well as our friend so we were going to pay for him of course but he would not hear of it. He said it was his local and he was treating us. John is a true gent, a kind and gentle soul who has made a vast impression on my time in optics. He was always happy to help anyone with business or personally, he has an incredibly generous heart. His name is an institution in optics and he will always be remembered for what he has contributed, achieved and his lovely humour. I will miss him very much. I send hugs and love to Johns family who he was always so incredibly proud of and what they’d achieved. I could keep writing as it’s been hard to put 25 years into writing this but to me, I will always think of him as a true gent of optics, a rare diamond. Xx❤️