Frank came into our lives in September 1995, speaking very little English, he arrived with a passion to learn, as he needed to pass his English exams so he could become a Tennis Umpire. It was something he had wanted to do for a long time.
He was aged 20 and he very much reminded me of one of the Beatles, good looking, dark eyed and hair to match and when he smiled his entire face lit up.
His first job was serving coffee at a fancy restaurant in London, he would work till late and had to get the night bus back. One night he came in and sat down at the table with me and Pat (the handyman), giving a big sigh.
After a bit of prompting he opened up, relaying how his boss had shouted at him, calling him lots of rude words, some of which Pat and I had to explain to him.
I asked him who this chef was, turns out he was a young chef who had just been awarded a Michelin star, and was extremely fond of 'F-words'!
Frank came back to stay with us several years after and we had much fun catching up with each other's news. I took great pleasure in seeing him on Centre Court umpiring one of the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2014.