Kentish Express Ashford & District
‘Evening of joy’ as town and family remember star
tcollins@thekmgroup.co.uk A BLOCKBUSTER evening of entertainment was held to celebrate the life of broadcasting legend Bob Holness.
Scores of supporters of Find A Voice (FAV), the speech and communication charity of which Mr Holness was a patron, joined members of the Holness family – including his widow Mary and daughter Ros – and friends for a special service held on Saturday at Ashford’s St Mary’s Parish Church in the town centre.
Actor Jan Francis, who is also a patron of the Ashford-based FAV, led the tributes to the veteran entertainer, who was best known for his decade-long stint as the presenter of the television quiz Blockbusters.
A less well known fact is that Mr Holness starred as an early incarnation of James Bond in a South African radio version of Moonraker.
His daughter Ros Holness said: “I cannot express how touched my mother and I were by the concert.
“It was an unforgettable evening of pure joy, and an extraordinary tribute from the people of Ashford to one of their own. Bob would have loved every minute of it.
“My mother, Mary, and I would like to thank all the organisers, performers and volunteers for all their hard work and generosity.”
Ms Francis read out the memo- ries of Don Nowers, who was in the audience, from the time he spent as a schoolboy attending the Norton Knatchbull School, then known as Ashford Grammar School, with Mr Holness.
Mr Holness spent his spare time earning money as a paper boy outside the town’s railway works during the Second World War.
Later, he became an apprentice at Geerings printers, and spent his National Service working as a radar operator at sites around Dover and Romney Marsh.
A special message from Dame Judi Dench, a close friend of Mr Holness, was also heard.
Borough councillor and deputy council leader Michael Claughton revealed hidden talents with a musical rendition of Barbara Dickson’s Caravan Song, as well as his humorous take on the Alan Bennett sketch Take A Pew.
The Norton Knatchbull jazz band The Trad Lads kept the audience glued to their seats throughout the evening with their high-energy performances of jazz standards and some more quirky pieces of music.
Crowd- pleasers included I Wanna Be Like You from Disney’s The Jungle Book, as well as closing number Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty.
An urban myth, much played up to by Mr Holness, claimed that the Blockbusters host was in fact the saxophonist playing the central refrain on Baker Street.
Ashford Borough Council has agreed in principle to name a road in Mr Holness’ honour. The naming will take place once a suitable major road is under construction.
Mr Holness came to Ashford as a child when his family moved from South Africa.