PERRY ELSE Sunday 1st June 2014 This morning Bob Hughes sent an email to members of the IPA England Wales & Northern Ireland board, breaking the news that Perry had passed away. The sun was out, but the day was immediately darkened by the loss. I knew Perry fairly well through our IPA work and loved his company. I always looked forward to seeing him and the thought of him now forever absent from our meetings was miserable. Perry kept his illness out of our meetings. He was clearly tired by the taxing medical treatment he was receiving but as IPA EWNI chair he continued to lead our meetings with focussed authority and when we strayed he would get us back on track with his warm wit. A few times after meetings he would ask me if he’d been too forceful or pedantic on a certain point. He invariably hadn’t – but his doubt revealed his sensitivity and, given his stature, humility. I first met Perry at a play conference in 2010. But his reputation preceded him –when I lectured in Play and Playwork at Thurrock, his ideas were embedded into my course presentations. Perry Else is a big name in play academia. So I was not expecting the Hawaiian-shirted, Frank-Zappa-moustached figure that I found reclining on a sofa when we were first introduced. From the outset he was open and unpretentious with a disarming and genuine curiosity in others. It was clear Perry was not out to prove anything. We chatted on that sofa for an hour or two as the conference went on around us. The last time we were in contact was also in relation to a conference. As chair of IPA EWNI, Perry was due to present a key paper to the IPA world conference in Istanbul last month. His illness had got the better of him and he had reluctantly decided to stay at home. As vice-chair it fell to me to present his paper in his place. I took to the podium and before I began the presentation, got my phone out and filmed the audience shouting as one: “Get well Perry!” I sent the film to Perry immediately and by the time I had finished speaking he had texted me back his thanks. Last Friday I rang him to set a date to interview him about his life and work. I was unaware of how sick he had quickly become. It went to answerphone. Then it was Sunday and Bob’s email. There are surely many more people whose grief is deeper than mine, who knew Perry better, loved him more and are now bereft. But still I feel his loss keenly and he will endure in my memory as a lovely man who wore his achievements lightly yet was uncompromising in his quest to give children and their play the respect it deserves. Paul Hocker IPA EWNI vice-chair
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 15:29:39 +0000
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