The original For John (GC75NMZ) was created in memory of a friend we made through caching - an Englishman we met but once and on his native turf. It was replaced with For John Too (GC9TY25) and the latter is now being replaced by Here's to John! - still with the original purpose. We had not intended to change it in any other way except location - and that was done for good reasons - but regulations require that a new cache be created if the cache site is moved as much as this one has been. The cache is located on a segment of the 24 000 km Trans Canada Trail, known for a time as the Great Trail. (Thank you to Sharpeye468 for pointing out the change in the name - again.)
We no longer make regular formal spring checks; however, we will visit a cache when we are informed in a log or personal e-mail that maintenance is needed - so please keep us informed!
Congratulations to Phyzicist for taking the hike on a beautiful morning to earn FTF honours on this one!
John: How We “Connected”
In May of 2012, during the course of a trip to England, we were visiting a “muggle” cousin in Buckinghamshire - a county of rolling hills and picturesque villages north-west of London. One beautiful morning, we headed out on a footpath with the aim of walking to a nearby village for a pub lunch. Along the way, we visited a number of caches one of which was called The Road Not Taken. We chose to drop into that cache a geocoin of ours which we had dubbed This Precious Stone.
In early June, our friends-to-be visited the same cache and hid it better than it had been by the addition of - to use John’s word from his on-line log - some “barkouflage.” For some reason, they did not take our coin but it was picked up two days later by other cachers who deposited it within the month in Belle Tout View 2 (Beachy Head) along England's south-east coast. In early July, John and his wife, Maggy, visited this latter cache and this time, they did take the coin! Back in Canada by this time, we received the e-mail notification that our coin had been picked up - and by whom.
John and Maggy’s geocaching name made us suspect that they might come from the area in Buckinghamshire where we had spent most of our time and so, just for fun, we e-mailed them to enquire about their home base with the idea that they might be acquainted with our cousin or members of her family. They responded to say that we had identified the location correctly but that they had not lived there long enough to have met anyone we knew.
John: How We Met
Over the following months, we corresponded on and off with our on-line acquaintances and, when we decided to make another trip to the UK in the fall of 2013, we suggested to them that it would be fun to meet with them during this visit and spend a day caching together and getting to know each other on a face-to-face basis. And so, on October 2nd, we took the train to their Buckinghamshire town, met them and spent an interesting morning caching in a nearby forest area which John had picked out. Neither of us had a full day to give to the activity and we stopped early enough for a late pub lunch. We had a delightful day with them and certainly we had hoped to cache with them again on subsequent visits but this was not to be. Although he was anticipating surgery on a leg which had bothered him since the late seventies, John was not expecting to be diagnosed with cancer but, despite his valiant efforts, it claimed his life in February of 2015.
John: the Person
Thanks to Maggy and some of John’s friends for taking the time to write to us, thereby increasing our knowledge of John and his many interests. We wish we could relate here all that we have learned but the following will serve to illustrate the sort of man he was.
John was a primary school teacher and it was in a school that he met his wife who was training to become a teacher also. Early in his career, his school’s staff room was also used for storing drama paraphernalia including a number of hats. It appears to have been John’s idea to have the teachers dress up in these hats during lunch hour on specified “silly hat” days much to the amusement of anyone who came knocking on the door - including the head master! We infer that pupils must have had a lot of fun in his classroom!
Over the decades, John participated in a variety of activities in which his interest waxed and waned as the years passed. For example, photography was one hobby to which John gave a lot of time and effort at one time. In the seventies, he was keen enough that he used to develop his own black and white pictures in his darkroom. Over time, a succession of other activities claimed his attention.
One of John’s friends made a living for a time writing signs for, and painting the colourful, traditional craft which ply the English canal system - a system of narrow canals criss-crossing the country in many areas where the boaters themselves operate the locks and, at times, pull the boats along from the river-bank. John shared this activity for some time but his interest in “transport” was wider than that. He explored the areas of vintage and model buses, rallies, steam trains, planes and cars. In particular, he enjoyed riding motorbikes until, in 1978, an unfortunate accident with Maggy aboard put an end to this hobby leaving him with a troublesome leg for the rest of his life.
In his younger days, John was active in football (soccer), rugby and badminton. Later in life, golf became a hobby. However, he always maintained an interest in all these sports - and others - although more and more from a chair as he got older. And, in that chair, he enjoyed reading from a wide variety of sources. He also maintained an interest in music - particularly rock and folk - and was an “aspiring drummer.” One of his friends asserted that “when John sang it was something to behold but . . . very enthusiastic.” Asked to elaborate on just what he meant, the reply was that “John’s singing was dreadful!” Nonetheless, all the caches he and Maggy created had a musical theme, related to hits from some fifty years ago.
We are all familiar with the fact that packages are not always treated with great care by the post office employees. During the seventies and eighties, John was a collector of bottles and “breweriana” and would travel widely to add to his collection. At one time, he had stored in his home hundreds of related items which he used to trade with other collectors . . . via the Royal Mail. Being realistic, and hoping that a bit of humour might help, he frequently labelled the packages he mailed thus: “FRAGILE . . . PLEASE THROW UNDERARM!”
So, John was a man with many interests - including geocaching, of course! - and was, therefore, an interesting man to know and a companionable person with whom to walk the caching trails. In addition, his close associates reveal that John was a kind and supporting person - “a dear friend and valued colleague” as one person put it. We were unfortunate to have had only a few hours with a person it would have been a pleasure to get to know better and we are pleased to create this cache in a lovely rural area to honour his memory.
Here's to John!: the Cache
Enjoy your walk along this rail-trail through farming country - an area where the scenery changes from day to day and from season to season. Regardless of the time of year, the sky enhances the landscape. Birds of many species will be evident along the fence lines and in the air - especially in the spring. Small mammals, too, make this their home: we have seen squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs, beavers, foxes and many tiny mammals along the trail; coyotes can be heard at night.
Since pens and pencils seem to have a fairly short “cache life,” you are asked to bring your own writing instrument
There are a few items of swag; please "trade even or up."
Once you are home, enjoy a portion of your favourite beverage and raise your glass - "Here's to John!" Maggy assures us that if John were there he would be pleased to join you!