Jamin Drummond
Jamin Drummond |
Jamin “Fuzz” DrummondDavid Mackay, Sally Richards and Tamara Killen – on behalf of all his friends from Earle Page College years.It was a very sad day when we lost our beautiful big friend – Jamin “FUZZ”. Jamin has been a huge part of so many of our lives. Earle Page College days, the “Earle Page house” in London (Marney Road) and many years after in Sydney. We have remained the tight knit group that began years ago when we all met as teenagers at Earle Page College. We have been to each other’s 21st’s, 30th’s, engagement parties, weddings, christening and kids parties. Jamin was always at these events with a huge smile, a funny story, always the last to leave and would always do something amusing that we could laugh about at the next party. At college Fuzz was a true legend and was involved in absolutely everything – as long as it had nothing to do with academics. He was a tremendously coordinated and gifted sportsman, representing not only Page but the University in many sports at the top level, he dabbled in drama, he got involved in committees, he was very popular with the ladies, and was not only at every party but was the centre of attention there as well. One of the more illustrious committees he was on was the JCR. Now with the glory of this position came the task of cleaning up after the functions… Fuzz managed to avoid this like no other. Fuzz had a great sense of humour and fun, and would light up any room with his presence and as anyone who knew him would testify Fuzz was always a great person to be around – the only exception being the times when he decided to make himself a little more comfortable by releasing unwanted wind. He usually decided to do this in a packed common room, at the dinner table or on a long car trip. Fuzz studied economics and he had by no means a tremendous academic record. Gooni and many other people took comfort before exams by thinking at least they had done more work than Fuzz. At about 10pm the night before an exam he would look at the 1 ½ pages of notes he had from the 20 lectures he didn’t attend, then start walking around college trying to find someone to give him some study notes (usually Max Ryan). By about midnight he would be set – Gooni and others would stay up most of the night trying to learn the subject from scratch while Fuzz would find someone to have a cup of tea and a chat with, then go to bed, wake up, do a couple of hours study, then rock into the exam. He would also go to extremes to delay an exam. For one exam (in summer) he drove Tamara’s car around Armidale a few times with the heater on full blast, wearing several layers of clothing, beanie and scarf before arriving at the doctors to be diagnosed with an extremely high fever and to be told he was far too sick to sit the exam. The annoying part was that more often than not he would scrape through and others in the same situation would fail. He was a very bright boy. Fuzz always had a special ability to get you really cranky with something he’d say or do. But for some reason no matter how bad it was you would always forgive him – that includes old girlfriends and blokes he’d smash on the footy field. You could never be cranky at him for too long. Everyone knows Fuzz loved the couch – especially when people were cleaning or washing up around him, or when he should have been studying or looking for a job. For those of us who lived (or visited) with him in the infamous Marney Road London abode he was the undisputed life of the house. He welcomed the many flatmates and visitors with open arms, twenty questions and in his inimitable manner made them part of his gang – trips to the pub, kitchen dance parties, more trips to the pub and the backyard barbies in any weather. We will always remember from Marney Road the bike ride down the stairs, the painful dance moves, the dinners at the long table, New Years in Edinburgh where Jamin was more than on fire, World Cup Rugby in Wales, all day parties at Clapham Common and our favourite local pubs “Harvey Floorbangers” and the Lavender. Harvies Bar dancing will always be treasured. Sometimes Jamin made us laugh so hard it would hurt and we would scream for him to go away. None of us will forget that symphonic snore that could be heard on all four levels of our home and the 3 minute yawn that defied description. The Marney Road couch was perfectly moulded to his body and somehow would only ever fit him and of course god help anyone who touched the remote or interrupted his “Men and motors” channel! He loved hanging out with the girlies of the house – Tam, Sal, Tracey, Christie, Caro, Meges talking about anything and everything with advice always forthcoming, some of which we took on board and some of which was not at all pratical! He had his gentle, soft phone voice for female friends who would call and of course for his mates the tone deepened! He was a charmer, a smooth talker and as we all know a great big softie who gave the best ever hugs. Jamin was always up to something with a never-ending enthusiasm for most things (except housework), which could be dangerously contagious. Jamin hated to be alone for longer than a few minutes. He was the true definition of a “people person” and always surrounded himself with friends wherever he went. At times people would have given him stick about being lazy. We disagree with this, because we think Fuzz was just playing it his way. He just doesn’t fit the mould of a lazy person. A lazy person doesn’t:
Fuzz lived his life in a way that ensured he was doing what he enjoyed most, or what he felt was right at any given time – and this is what made him the great person he was. His legacy to all of us is to not take life too seriously, live each day to the fullest and treat everyone with respect. He was larger than life, unforgettable and will bring a smile when we least expect it and a fond tear. We have so many fantastic memories of an amazing bloke who loved his family and friends unconditionally. Our thoughts are with Jamin’s father Phil and his sisters Renee and Marika (who also lived at Earle Page College). We can’t imagine how hard it is for you but we hope you can get some comfort in knowing how many people loved him. Rest in peace our special mate – you will be part of our memories and stories forever.
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