This is the eulogy that I read on Monday 29th April - with love For me, and many of you, Dad was an inspiration and role model. He lived his life to the full with strong values, his family and friends at the heart of everything that he did. He gave his time freely to love and support people he met and befriended. Dad was born in Port of Spain on the 25th September 1937 to Vlastislav and Marie Kacal. He was the oldest brother to Vladimir and Jenda who he enjoyed spending time with. He remembered clearly, and often reflected on, the Caribbean way of life, especially the times he spent on the beautiful beaches and in the warm seas of Trinidad, with his favourite being Maracas Beach. He used to talk fondly of the family home and how his Mum enjoyed cooking Czech food and the fruit that grew in the orchards the family were lucky to have on their land. Dad used to smile when he told us about how he used to climb the pommarac tree and eat the fruits. He was very aware that his upbringing was more privileged than most. In November 1946 the Kacal family left Trinidad to return to Czechoslovakia aboard a boat. It was a long journey and it was during this trip that Dad and his brothers had their first experience of cold and snowy weather, very different to the hot weather they had left in Trinidad. The family settled in Stary Plzenec, a small town outside of Plzen, and immersed themselves in Czech life. Just over a year later, in December 1947, the family returned to Trinidad and it was 46 years before he returned to Czechoslovakia again. Dad loved growing up in Trinidad and enjoyed playing tennis, although he’d tell you he wasn’t the best! He was part of the school choir with Uncle Jenda and it is from here that his true love of music began. He also, with his family, had a passion for scouting. It was with his Dad, and brothers, that his love and talent of making furniture began. The Kacal reputation in Trinidad for producing quality wooden furniture and toys was renowned and the name ‘Kacal’ became very well known. Dad was the first brother to leave home in 1956 when he travelled by banana boat to England. He told the story that despite buying a ‘lower class’ ticket, by the time the boat docked in Southampton, he was a welcome and invited visitor to the ‘Officer’s level’, and had been throughout the voyage. I don’t think any of us would be surprised about that! He also told us about how, with only 12 hours left for him to register and be able to stay in England, he caught a train to London and then to Liverpool, to do just that! He remembers clearly standing in the centre of Liverpool and thinking to himself that for the first time ever, he was somewhere where he knew no one and he was just another young man, in a big city, rather than a well known Kacal on a small island in the Caribbean. Dad certainly made himself at home in Liverpool making life long friendships. It was through those friendships that he met and fell in love with a beautiful young Welsh lady who later became his wife, our Mum. Dad graduated as a civil engineer in 1959. Mum and Dad were married on the 3rd April 1961 in Denbigh. The photographs show that their day was filled with happiness, despite the reservations of my grandfather who had happily agreed for Dad to ask Mum to marry him on a telephone conversation, but had then turned to Naini and said ‘blooming foreigners coming here to marry our girls’. As a married couple, Mum and Dad travelled a lot with Dad’s work within England and abroad. Dad’s first job was in Carlisle and Liz was born in Brampton. At this time, Mum and Dad were supported by Hamish and Ann Macgregor. Hamish MacGregor became ‘Uncle Mac’ to our family and together with Auntie Ann, Ian, Andrew and Liz became life-long friends. Due to the distance, the MacGregors and Kacals only saw each other once a year, every Easter. This was a great time in our houses as both Mum and Auntie Ann had competitions to see who could cook the best cakes and biscuits for the families at this time! Uncle Mac and Dad enjoyed the sampling of the food, a lot! Dad continued to move around with his work and Cathy was born in Denbigh so that Mum had support from Naini, when Dad was away. Dad enjoyed every aspect of his work and was well-respected by people he worked with around the world. Dad worked diligently to ensure that any designs coming out of his office were the best they could be. He had a great team at Wallace Evans and Partners and was respected as a good boss. There is no denying at times that meant that he worked every hour he could, but he never moaned about that, he just got the job done and that is where his excellent reputation comes from. In 1970, Mum and Dad decided that it was time to settle down and moved to Brookside in Dinas Powys. I was then born and we moved to Murch Crescent in 1972, which became our family home for over 43 years. If a building could tell stories, 49 Murch Crescent could write a book! Dad was very happy there and the residents of the five white houses at the top of the hill became very close friends. When Mum and Dad moved to Dinas Powys, they joined Penarth Ladies Circle and Round Table, respectively. Many stories from this time have been censored but I have great memories of Family Weekends in Llandrindod Wells, the annual Donkey Derby on the Penarth seafront and the annual raft race in Monmouth. Dad was always a raft volunteer and at this time, spectators used to throw ‘anything’ off the bridges, to the unsuspecting raft rowers. One particular year, the Penarth Round Table raft was hit with red riot dye which Dad could not wash off and had to go to work with it on, for about a week! He was not impressed! Having thrown himself into a tablers life, he became Chairman of Penarth Round Table and was so proud when Martin took his advice and joined Chepstow Round Table, following his footsteps of also becoming Chair. I think it was an excuse for Dad to relive his youth and be invited to Table events again and an opportunity to wear his medals. In the spirit of Round Table, he made life-long friendships. Dad was a sociable and loyal member of many clubs. He enjoyed his time in Penarth Rotary Club again, becoming chairman. He volunteered at all the events he could get away with, without upsetting Mum! When Penarth Rotary Club finished, Dad joined Dinas Powys Rotary and enjoyed the evenings he spent with its members. He particularly enjoyed the Indian Restaurant meetings! He was an active member of the Institute of Chartered Engineers and enjoyed planning and organising the annual dinners, although this was always a tense time in the Kacal home with people dropping in and out at the last moment! He enjoyed 41 Club, Reg and Probus in recent years too and had many friends through these organisations. Dad’s family meant the world to him and he enjoyed spending as much time with us as possible. He spent much time with Liz, as they both lived in Dinas Powys, and was extremely proud of her many achievements in life despite her challenges. He always enjoyed cooking for Liz and Frank, asking them to try food he was preparing for a dinner party later in the week for friends. There were a few disasters but on the whole, he was an accomplished chef! He enjoyed having Liz live near. He visited Cathy four times in New Zealand and was very proud of the life she has made there for herself and her family. He returned from all his visits with stories of the adventures he’d had, particularly stories of the New Zealand wine tours he had while he was there. Although he didn’t see Rebecka and James often, he always enjoyed listening to everything they were up to in New Zealand. He was proud that Rebecka chose to complete an engineering degree and would have been proud to know that James is about to start a PHD in neuroscience. He really did enjoy Rebecka’s visit in December 2018 and was proud to show her off to all his friends. For the Curtis Family, Dad was a welcome weekly visitor as our girls grew up. Great for Martin and I as he cooked tea - his sausage casserole was a winner! He was very happy to represent our family at school events and enjoyed everything the girls threw themselves into, particularly the school drama productions and all the CMYT productions Emma was involved in. With his family involvement with the scouting movement, he was delighted that Hannah enjoys her time with her Brownies each week. He became very involved in Charlotte’s rowing and took on the role of her sponsor, of which she was very proud. It was often a competition who could shout the loudest at the regattas, him or me! He welcomed Dave and Aled into our family with open arms. He enjoyed talking to Dave about the garden and to Aled about engineering and I know he would have loved and been so proud of Emma and Dave at their recent wedding although there is no doubt that he would have prolonged the reception by making one of his speeches! We enjoyed many holidays together as a family too although Dad was not one to sit still. He would wake up every morning and say ‘right, what are we doing today?’ before the first cup of coffee had been poured. It didn’t always go down well with three teenage girls or in fact a sleepy Martin! I realised that holidays for Dad were about seizing the opportunity to explore when, during our visit to Prague, I suggested we sit near the river and read our books, to which Dad replied ‘we haven’t come to Prague to read, Victoria’. With Dad’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease in 2018 the tables turned and we needed to support Dad more. He was frightfully independent and often refused the offers of help he was given because he wanted to remain the Head of the Family, which of course, he was. Daily routines took longer and he struggled to walk long distances which he did not like however, it didn’t stop him doing what he wanted to do. He still came out with us all and attended the various clubs that he was a member of. He didn’t want to miss out on anything and that was his driving force to keep going. He seized the opportunity whenever it was offered. In the past two years, we have watched him battle illness after illness with dignity and grace. His resilience is something that I will certainly learn from. As a family, we now know that Dad is at rest and is at peace. We truly believe he’s with Mum and all our loved ones and friends that have gone before him, looking down on us all. He might be out of sight but he’ll live forever in our hearts and our memories will bring us comfort. Eventually, we will be able to carry on knowing that we are the people today because of knowing such a wonderfully loving, special and genuinely gorgeous man.

This is the eulogy that I read on Monday 29th April - with love For me, and many of you, Dad was an inspiration and role model. He lived his life to the full with strong values, his family and friends at the heart of everything that he did. He gave his time freely to love and support people he met and befriended. Dad was born in Port of Spain on the 25th September 1937 to Vlastislav and Marie Kacal. He was the oldest brother to Vladimir and Jenda who he enjoyed spending time with. He remembered clearly, and often reflected on, the Caribbean way of life, especially the times he spent on the beautiful beaches and in the warm seas of Trinidad, with his favourite being Maracas Beach. He used to talk fondly of the family home and how his Mum enjoyed cooking Czech food and the fruit that grew in the orchards the family were lucky to have on their land. Dad used to smile when he told us about how he used to climb the pommarac tree and eat the fruits. He was very aware that his upbringing was more privileged than most. In November 1946 the Kacal family left Trinidad to return to Czechoslovakia aboard a boat. It was a long journey and it was during this trip that Dad and his brothers had their first experience of cold and snowy weather, very different to the hot weather they had left in Trinidad. The family settled in Stary Plzenec, a small town outside of Plzen, and immersed themselves in Czech life. Just over a year later, in December 1947, the family returned to Trinidad and it was 46 years before he returned to Czechoslovakia again. Dad loved growing up in Trinidad and enjoyed playing tennis, although he’d tell you he wasn’t the best! He was part of the school choir with Uncle Jenda and it is from here that his true love of music began. He also, with his family, had a passion for scouting. It was with his Dad, and brothers, that his love and talent of making furniture began. The Kacal reputation in Trinidad for producing quality wooden furniture and toys was renowned and the name ‘Kacal’ became very well known. Dad was the first brother to leave home in 1956 when he travelled by banana boat to England. He told the story that despite buying a ‘lower class’ ticket, by the time the boat docked in Southampton, he was a welcome and invited visitor to the ‘Officer’s level’, and had been throughout the voyage. I don’t think any of us would be surprised about that! He also told us about how, with only 12 hours left for him to register and be able to stay in England, he caught a train to London and then to Liverpool, to do just that! He remembers clearly standing in the centre of Liverpool and thinking to himself that for the first time ever, he was somewhere where he knew no one and he was just another young man, in a big city, rather than a well known Kacal on a small island in the Caribbean. Dad certainly made himself at home in Liverpool making life long friendships. It was through those friendships that he met and fell in love with a beautiful young Welsh lady who later became his wife, our Mum. Dad graduated as a civil engineer in 1959. Mum and Dad were married on the 3rd April 1961 in Denbigh. The photographs show that their day was filled with happiness, despite the reservations of my grandfather who had happily agreed for Dad to ask Mum to marry him on a telephone conversation, but had then turned to Naini and said ‘blooming foreigners coming here to marry our girls’. As a married couple, Mum and Dad travelled a lot with Dad’s work within England and abroad. Dad’s first job was in Carlisle and Liz was born in Brampton. At this time, Mum and Dad were supported by Hamish and Ann Macgregor. Hamish MacGregor became ‘Uncle Mac’ to our family and together with Auntie Ann, Ian, Andrew and Liz became life-long friends. Due to the distance, the MacGregors and Kacals only saw each other once a year, every Easter. This was a great time in our houses as both Mum and Auntie Ann had competitions to see who could cook the best cakes and biscuits for the families at this time! Uncle Mac and Dad enjoyed the sampling of the food, a lot! Dad continued to move around with his work and Cathy was born in Denbigh so that Mum had support from Naini, when Dad was away. Dad enjoyed every aspect of his work and was well-respected by people he worked with around the world. Dad worked diligently to ensure that any designs coming out of his office were the best they could be. He had a great team at Wallace Evans and Partners and was respected as a good boss. There is no denying at times that meant that he worked every hour he could, but he never moaned about that, he just got the job done and that is where his excellent reputation comes from. In 1970, Mum and Dad decided that it was time to settle down and moved to Brookside in Dinas Powys. I was then born and we moved to Murch Crescent in 1972, which became our family home for over 43 years. If a building could tell stories, 49 Murch Crescent could write a book! Dad was very happy there and the residents of the five white houses at the top of the hill became very close friends. When Mum and Dad moved to Dinas Powys, they joined Penarth Ladies Circle and Round Table, respectively. Many stories from this time have been censored but I have great memories of Family Weekends in Llandrindod Wells, the annual Donkey Derby on the Penarth seafront and the annual raft race in Monmouth. Dad was always a raft volunteer and at this time, spectators used to throw ‘anything’ off the bridges, to the unsuspecting raft rowers. One particular year, the Penarth Round Table raft was hit with red riot dye which Dad could not wash off and had to go to work with it on, for about a week! He was not impressed! Having thrown himself into a tablers life, he became Chairman of Penarth Round Table and was so proud when Martin took his advice and joined Chepstow Round Table, following his footsteps of also becoming Chair. I think it was an excuse for Dad to relive his youth and be invited to Table events again and an opportunity to wear his medals. In the spirit of Round Table, he made life-long friendships. Dad was a sociable and loyal member of many clubs. He enjoyed his time in Penarth Rotary Club again, becoming chairman. He volunteered at all the events he could get away with, without upsetting Mum! When Penarth Rotary Club finished, Dad joined Dinas Powys Rotary and enjoyed the evenings he spent with its members. He particularly enjoyed the Indian Restaurant meetings! He was an active member of the Institute of Chartered Engineers and enjoyed planning and organising the annual dinners, although this was always a tense time in the Kacal home with people dropping in and out at the last moment! He enjoyed 41 Club, Reg and Probus in recent years too and had many friends through these organisations. Dad’s family meant the world to him and he enjoyed spending as much time with us as possible. He spent much time with Liz, as they both lived in Dinas Powys, and was extremely proud of her many achievements in life despite her challenges. He always enjoyed cooking for Liz and Frank, asking them to try food he was preparing for a dinner party later in the week for friends. There were a few disasters but on the whole, he was an accomplished chef! He enjoyed having Liz live near. He visited Cathy four times in New Zealand and was very proud of the life she has made there for herself and her family. He returned from all his visits with stories of the adventures he’d had, particularly stories of the New Zealand wine tours he had while he was there. Although he didn’t see Rebecka and James often, he always enjoyed listening to everything they were up to in New Zealand. He was proud that Rebecka chose to complete an engineering degree and would have been proud to know that James is about to start a PHD in neuroscience. He really did enjoy Rebecka’s visit in December 2018 and was proud to show her off to all his friends. For the Curtis Family, Dad was a welcome weekly visitor as our girls grew up. Great for Martin and I as he cooked tea - his sausage casserole was a winner! He was very happy to represent our family at school events and enjoyed everything the girls threw themselves into, particularly the school drama productions and all the CMYT productions Emma was involved in. With his family involvement with the scouting movement, he was delighted that Hannah enjoys her time with her Brownies each week. He became very involved in Charlotte’s rowing and took on the role of her sponsor, of which she was very proud. It was often a competition who could shout the loudest at the regattas, him or me! He welcomed Dave and Aled into our family with open arms. He enjoyed talking to Dave about the garden and to Aled about engineering and I know he would have loved and been so proud of Emma and Dave at their recent wedding although there is no doubt that he would have prolonged the reception by making one of his speeches! We enjoyed many holidays together as a family too although Dad was not one to sit still. He would wake up every morning and say ‘right, what are we doing today?’ before the first cup of coffee had been poured. It didn’t always go down well with three teenage girls or in fact a sleepy Martin! I realised that holidays for Dad were about seizing the opportunity to explore when, during our visit to Prague, I suggested we sit near the river and read our books, to which Dad replied ‘we haven’t come to Prague to read, Victoria’. With Dad’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease in 2018 the tables turned and we needed to support Dad more. He was frightfully independent and often refused the offers of help he was given because he wanted to remain the Head of the Family, which of course, he was. Daily routines took longer and he struggled to walk long distances which he did not like however, it didn’t stop him doing what he wanted to do. He still came out with us all and attended the various clubs that he was a member of. He didn’t want to miss out on anything and that was his driving force to keep going. He seized the opportunity whenever it was offered. In the past two years, we have watched him battle illness after illness with dignity and grace. His resilience is something that I will certainly learn from. As a family, we now know that Dad is at rest and is at peace. We truly believe he’s with Mum and all our loved ones and friends that have gone before him, looking down on us all. He might be out of sight but he’ll live forever in our hearts and our memories will bring us comfort. Eventually, we will be able to carry on knowing that we are the people today because of knowing such a wonderfully loving, special and genuinely gorgeous man.

You’re Gone There is a raw emptiness That fleeting childlike vulnerability Now felt so acutely So gripping It’s hard to comprehend. The tears are here to stay for a while, the kind that come with each thought of you. As time stands still for us People move on with their lives We will too, but for now, we are missing you, No more bear hugs to greet us Or tears as we depart … Today it is just tears of sorrow As we say goodbye, Tomorrow will be the same … until we can wipe our tears away Knowing you are at peace at last no longer struggling in pain, You are at rest.