For those of you who have known us in our home in Brissie you may be aware that we had an authentic Aussie right next door who went by the name of Uncle Russ. He was our age, the only one of his family to go to university and clearly a very bright mind. Countless nights were spent on the deck arguing over words, philosophies and religious questions. He was a polymath and proud of it and in Charles he felt he had met his match but that did not stop him from trying to win the argument every time.

With me it was all about food. He was a connoisseur of what he liked and I would be lying if I said that when he gave me a low score I wasn’t upset. I have cooked more dinners for Russ in the last ten years then I have cooked for my kids and sometimes with very little back in terms of praise- more often condemnation. He was not one to mince his words and so our relationship hit frosty notes but I always felt there was no point in harbouring a grudge, he was our Aussie neighbour. Dinners always resumed, cooking tips exchanged and endless bottles of wine drunk, including dubious bottles of sparkling Shiraz.

Russ died this morning from kidney cancer, a diagnosis he received only a few months ago. We supported him in every way we could. His pain is over and I have the dubious joy of being left his cat Boney in his will. We shall miss him, his crabs, his xmas shirts, his regifted items, his spring rolls, his Aussie humour and his many stories of his youth.

Vale Russell Korn.