IN MEMORIAM: CHRIS BRAND
The last 12 hours have been very tearful for me. After a long battle, Chris Brand has just passed away. Chris and I were born on opposite parts of the world but we could well have been twins. We were the same age, we both had a classical education (though Chris acquired his in circumstances much more distinguished than mine) and both of us were very self-confident and independent and thought very similarly. To defy all the nonsense that is taught in our society we had to be very self-confident and independent. Both Chris and I waged an unrelenting war on political correctness.
Sadly, I never met Chris in person but I am pleased I had a proxy with him up to the end. My stepson Paul and I had always got on exceptionally well. Paul too is very independent and there was a time in his teens and early 20s when I was the only person Paul would listen to if any kind of advice was being offered. So when Paul moved to Edinburgh for business reasons I was greatly pleased that I could send him a friend very much like myself. And Paul did indeed develop a great friendship with Chris.
Something that upsets me about Chris's death is that I could have prevented it if I had known earlier what I know now. He died in an NHS (government) hospital of hospital-borne infections. He got one after another, progressively weakening him until he had nothing left to fight with. NHS hospitals are riddled with hospital borne infections and Scottish NHS hospitals are said to be worse even than English ones. Private British hospitals are however usually free of such infections. With the benefit of hindsight I would have asked Paul to put Chris in a private hospital very early on. I could have funded it and he would be with us today.
Curse and goddam the NHS!
It is however a comfort that Chris's wife, Dr. Shiou-Yun Fang [nataliasyfang1974@gmail.com] sat with him to the end. Perhaps in deference to a Chinese custom she even sat with him for some time after he died. She is from Taiwan and is a distinguished art historian. Those who enjoyed Chris's thoughts in life may wish to comfort her in her great loss by sending her your condolences and prayers and recollections of Chris's wisdom. I will leave his blog in place for as long as Google permits it. -- JR
