Farewell to Jonatthan Crawley

        

Farewell to Jonathan Crawley

Jonathan Crawley was one of the greatest characters ever to grace Bermuda’s shores. He was an insurance giant and, if one were to be the casting director of a movie about the insurance industry, Jonathan would have been perfectly cast to play the role of the classic O.E. Insurance underwriter. (O.E. = “Old Etonian”)

            He was larger than life, entertained lavishly at his home and in restaurants, drank Champagne by the gallon and lived every moment to the fullest. During his seventeen years in Bermuda, he made, dare i say, thousands of friends, many of whom were at the farewell party given for him at the Café Lido on 29 March 1996 - and at which the author read this piece.  The hundreds of guests present were all greatly saddened at the spectre of his leaving Bermuda to start a new life in his Chateau in the South West of France – Armagnac country.   At the time, he was planning to restore and convert the chateau into a small luxury hotel, but this project never came to fruition. He did however move into a house on the property and undertook renovations to a number of buildings, but not the main chateau.

Jonathan Crawley, Jonathan Crawley

Can it be true that you're leaving;  no surely

Not till you've shared one last glass of Champagne

With all of your friends who wish you'd remain.

You came to Bermuda in seventy-nine,

Since when you have quaffed more Pol Roger and wine

Than most of us drink in a lifetime or two.

Your departure is causing so much of a stew

That the owners of Romanoff, Fourways, Plantation

Have met to discuss the new state of the nation.

Oh what shall they do, but at all costs don't panic

Let's hope that they'll ride out this crisis Titanic.

Jonathan C, dear Jonathan C,

You've now got your wonderful mate Caralie.

And together you'll build your new nest in the Gers

But the whole of this year you'll be making repairs

To the great Chateau Brouquens, the bedrooms, the hall,

The loos and the dining room, cellar and all.

And the moment it's finished you know we'll descend

Upon you in droves and be sure that we'll spend

Thousands of dollars converted to francs

In your bar drinking Armagnac  - token of thanks

For the fabulous times on Jasmina  - your boat;

Three times sunk, three times lifted and still just afloat.

Jonathan C,  Jonathan C

You're the archetypal truest, the bluest O.E.

Your waistcoats, your kerchiefs, sartorial style

May soon have to change;  as the new Francophile

You'll don berets, smoke Gaulloises, wear boots of light brown

And eat garlic galore and drive Citroens to town.

Bermuda will not be the same when you've parted

For challenges new in la Belle France uncharted.

No more hurricanes, earthquakes or natural disaster

Or clients insisting their claims be paid faster.

No longer a ticket for thirty-five K

You'll speed down the Autoroute to the café.

Gone are the days when the Royal Gazette

Will carry your photo   -  but have no regret.

The mayor of Condom will welcome you soon

As the local photographer snaps the tycoon.

The Insurance Symposium won't be the same.

Your speeches so witty have brought you acclaim.

Perhaps they'll invite you to hold forth next year

Although you'll no longer be acting for Sphere.

We shall miss you dear Crawley;  Oh what shall we do?

No more boating or skiing or drinking with you.

Your charm and your style have left quite an impression.

Your loss to Bermuda may cause a recession.

We shall visit the Chateau de Brouquens next year

When the hotel is open and fully in gear

And the cellar is stocked with the choicest of wine

And the bedrooms are scented with Rosemary and Thyme.

And the grass on the tennis court's mown to perfection.

The pool is so clear it will show your reflection.

The horses are saddled and ready to ride

And Caralie's grooming and right by your side.

And afternoon tea will be served on the dot

Of a quarter past four with the tiniest tot

Of Armagnac just to ensure the blood flows

Cholesterol-free from our heads to our toes.

So please don't be sad that we're losing a pair

Of friends who've got an incredible flair

For making us happy and laugh till we cry.

It isn't adieu   -  it is only good-bye

Till we see you in France whether sooner or later

We know the hotel will get greater and greater.

We'll drive to your Chateau or change planes at Orly,

But never forget that we love you J Crawley.

                                                                        Robin Blackburne

                                                                           Bermuda 29 March 1996