Colin Brian Pressland

Colin was always cheerful, with a wonderful smile and always had time to chat and help people.

Colin loved dogs, and they loved him. He wasn’t one to try and bribe them with treats, they were just drawn in by Colin's warmth and friendliness. So many would drag their owners across the road when he was working at home with garage door up, or along the beach to the chalet to say hello and receive a stroke.

He was always cheerful, with a wonderful smile and always had time to chat and help people. Joan would often lose him down on Dunster beach as he would stop and talk to everyone on his walks, and so many people have grown to know or know of "Colin and Joan" at Dunster beach. It was not unheard of for Colin and Joan to be in the middle of nowhere to bump into someone who knew them. Lots of people have fond memories of Colin from over the years.

One of the highlights of peoples visits to the beach was spotting Colin's tomatoes growing on the patio outside the chalet (so unexpected and a bumper crop each year). This was regularly commented about, and even prompted one of his neighbours to ‘graft’ some shop bought ripe tomatoes onto a young plant with cotton, causing much laughter. He wasn’t limited to tomatoes, he was also a dab hand with his runner beans at home.

Colin loved nature, when they first got the Chalet they were forever out walking around Exmoor. Horner Wood, Watersmeet, Robbers Bridge and Staple Plain were all fond favourites of theirs. He would be so pleased to see Dippers and Nuthatches when out on walks, or the Kingfisher flying along the Hawn; seeing his first Firecrest down at the Chalet is a memory he always cherished, as was watching the Herons fledge just a couple of years ago down on the beach.

2020 stole Dad away from us with cancer, and COVID restrictions have meant we could not celebrate his life as we would have done on 18th December at his funeral. But with this fund we can at least remember him by raising money for Battersea something we know he would have wanted in preference to flowers at his funeral.