Tribute to Madjid Parangi Madjid was born in Tehran on 1st January 1951 to Monir & Mehdi Parangi, who we always knew as Ma Mon Monir & Ba Ba Mehdi. He always spoke fondly of his childhood, his face lit up with smiles as he spoke about playing football in the streets with friends, riding his bike & eating fresh pomegranates off the trees. His beloved Grandmother, ‘Nanchi’ was a key figure in his life, when he talked about her, he almost seemed overwhelmed with the love she showed him and the love he had for her. Their relationship was so strong, one day he went to stay the night with Nanchi, and ended up living there for most of his childhood, just downstairs from Ma mon & Ba Ba. Madjid specialised in Natural Science at college, and his love of nature was a key theme of his life. We always had house plants around us growing up, some of my earliest memories are of our Yucca plants in Weybridge. In later life, he would grow plants from seed and nurture them for many years into strong, healthy specimens. He was particularly proud of his orange plant that he grew in his kitchen window. He instilled his love of nature in both Becky & I and I’m sure that the many evenings watching David Attenborough programmes as a family had a lot to do with it. In the early 1970s Madjid came to London to study computer science which he was convinced would be the future. He seemed to live the full student experience, and I’m assured that he struck the right balance between having fun and studying. Although, I have heard stories about him not always waking up in the mornings to make it to college. From time to time Daddy would reflect on these times, he was particularly happy with the fold out bed that meant he could simply fold the bed into the wall and it was made! One of his happy memories of this time was when Ba Ba Mehdi came to visit him and they went to a traditional English pub. Ba Ba Mehdi was so keen to make a good impression he started to offer people in the pub pistachio nuts from his pocket. In 1973 at the age of 22, Madjid met our Mum, Julia who came to London at the age of 17 to start a career in banking, working with NatWest Bank. They got on well and in 1974 moved in together at Munster Road, Fulham. Tooraj & Ferry were a key part of his life at that time, they were married, living in London and had just had their daughter Hasti. In December 1978 Madjid & Julia got married in Newcastle, Staffordshire. Early the next year they moved to Weybridge in a flat above a bank that they rented from Natwest. Later that year in May I was born, which of course was a blessing to them both! In 1979 the Iranian revolution happened, which had a huge impact to family in Iran, but also to Madjid as he could no longer receive the financial support that he was getting from Ma Mon & Ba Ba to support his studies. His dutiful instincts kicked in at that time and he took the first job he could find in a local factory dismantling office furniture, later taking a job as a salesman in Harrods so they could afford the rent and food. Having said that, he did tell stories of finding it difficult to find parking and how frustrating it was to come out of work to find he had got a parking fine. In 1981 Becky was born, another blessing! Our family was complete, and from this time our memories of Daddy begin. Our memories of life in Weybridge with Daddy are happy. I remember clearly him teaching me to ride my bike, a Raleigh Bullet, around the bowling green in Weybridge Park. A bike that Becky was lucky enough to inherit when I progressed to a BMX. We used to go for long walks along the river Wey hunting for wild garlic, and from time to time venture out further to Box Hill, Virginia Waters, or Richmond Park in London. Friends and family are a key theme of happy memories in our childhood. Weekends with Tooraj, Ferry, Hasti & Arshea, feeling love and the Persian culture through food. Bademjoon, Gormeh Sabsi, Salad Olvieh, and of course tadic, which remains an obsession of Becky’s to this day! We have fond memories of the laughter and happiness at this time that we observed from the children’s matt on the floor. Persian food kept Daddy connected with home, and Becky and I remember trips to Southhall in London dedicated to buying sacks of rice and herbs and spices so that we could appreciate all the pleasure that comes with it. He also liked to experiment, Becky & I remember fondly Daddy’s home-made pitta bread that he used to cook on the grill of our old electric heater. Madjid fought for his career in computing to support his family, realising that experience was key for progression; in one interview he was asked what salary he would expect. His was response, was ‘pay me what you want to’. His salary at that point was below market value, but it was a risk worth taking as it set the foundation for his career where he pioneered the connections of systems in the Travel industry covering Ferry bookings and Airlines. In the late 80’s when interest rates were high, these were stressful times; I remember missing his presence when he took contracts in Birmingham to keep things going. Our most memorable job he had was when he helped to develop the Channel Tunnel’s booking systems. This was memorable as we got free tickets for ‘Le Shuttle’ on one of it’s first journeys; in this holiday we visited EuroDisney in its opening year - These were happy times. Madjid had a passion for both Travel & Cars, these two things come together in our family European road trips. We have fond memories travelling to Germany to visit Aunty Fataneh and family in our silver Renault 5. He was so proud of that new car. On the way Becky and I were often playing in the back, listening to conversations in the front in Farsi that we didn’t understand, from time to time we’d laugh when we recognised English words like ‘car park’ or ‘McDonalds’. Special times were when we met Ba Ba Mehdi, Ma Ma Monir and Aunty Taraneh in Germany with Aunty Fateneh & Uncle Farhod. At the time Fataneh was expecting Faryar. We were young, but I’m pretty sure I remember fun times at a Trout farm feeding the fish and just spending time laughing and having fun until dusk when the mosquitos came out. We also have fond memories exploring France, especially the south of France, listening to our favourite cassettes on the way, sometimes bursting into song to Madonna, Dire Straits or in later times the music from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. After I had a short spell in hospital with Asthma, in 1985, we moved to Brighton, Rowan Avenue. Daddy thought the sea air would help my breathing and it did. In 1987 his career was going well and we moved to a bigger house in Lark Hill. The house needed a lot of work doing, but the attraction was the huge garden. He could often be found pruning bushes and tending to the plants in the garden. One prominent memory from 1987 that Becky & I share is our walk to school on the morning of a great storm. We both clearly remember Becky being lifted up by the wind as she gripped tightly to Daddy’s hand. Daddy, always being cautious, decided at that point that we would turn around and not go to school that day. Great! We had a number of happy memories in Lark Hill. Ma Ma & Ba Ba visiting from Iran. Visits from Barbara, Amir & Anita, Tooraj, Ferry, Hasti & Arshea. One that stands out for us is Daddy’s 40th Birthday (turning 40 seemed so old back then). I’m not sure what stands out in our minds more, the ‘booby cake’ that Mummy made for him, or the look on his face when he saw it. Unfortunately, Lark Hill was also the place that held our most painful memories. It’s where Becky & I witnessed the breakdown of our Mum & Dad’s marriage. Those were dark times and influenced all of our lives in different ways since. During this time, I always felt an overwhelming urge to stay with my Dad, and he saw that and I’m sure it brought us closer. The divorce process was long and tough, and I don’t think he ever came to terms with it. He battled with depression for a period but managed to pull himself out of it. Unfortunately, that time reshaped his relationships with key people in his life; he chose to keep them at bay, which I’m sure was his way of coping. In 1996, at the age of 45, Madjid moved back to Brighton from Burgess Hill where he’d been living close to his work. He moved there specifically so that I could live with him and go to my college of choice, Varndean. This moment galvanised our relationship stronger than I ever imagined possible. This commitment to me under the circumstances at the time, meant the world to me, and always will. I was a teenager at that time, and despite living with him, a lot of my life was focussed on the night life and social aspects of college, but he was always there, providing guidance, and reiterating the importance of sciences, university, and education. His guidance, advice and at times mantras were always designed to help me be successful. I didn’t always understand or appreciate it at the time, but as I got older, and especially when I had children of my own, I got it. Becky got the messages earlier than me completing her first degree in Education Studies in 2004, she went on to complete her 2nd Degree in teaching a few years later. Daddy was very proud and kept her graduation picture close at all times. My most treasured memories with Daddy are our walks along the seafront. We’d walk for hours, walking and talking, putting the world to rites. I found his voice soothing and calming. Not only did I love the sea, I loved his love for the sea. I will always remember those times with fondness. I moved away from Brighton, first with work, and then with University. The guidance eventually got through to me, I know he was extremely proud that I had gone to university, and we stayed in touch despite our distance. It was while I was at university that I met and fell in love with Rachel. Another treasured memory was that he came to our wedding, this may sound a little unusual, but given the circumstances around the divorce, this was a huge deal for him to confront, and he did it for us. In the years that followed, he welcomed Rachel into our family with open arms and built strong relationships with Christine, Matt and the wider family. In April 2005, at the age of 54 I received a call from him to say he was in Hospital. When Rachel and I and Becky arrived at the hospital he’d been diagnosed with a brain tumour. Luckily, the brain tumour had burst and killed itself damaging his pituitary gland only which meant he was able to manage his health through medication and applying hormone gels. He suffered a heart attack a few years before so always tried to maintain a healthy lifestyle with good food and daily walks along the seafront. In 2005 he also became Grandad to William Madjid Parangi, and in 2009 to James Mehdi Parangi. These two little boys transformed his life. He was so proud to be a Grandad. He always enjoyed playing football and chess with them both. He kept up the family tradition of never letting them win! We have many happy memories visiting Grandad and enjoying the huge platter of fruit, cakes, nuts, and biscuits that he always laid on whenever we came down. Special memories include football (&KFC Picnics) in Preston Park, meals at Brighton Marina, and going to Morroco’s for ice cream whilst walking along the seafront. We always had fun together, laughing and talking for hours on end; we will always remember the phrase ‘too slow chicken Marengo’. Grandad loved to come up and visit us for Christmases and birthdays, he enjoyed playing with the boys and the presents they had for Christmas; table football was a favourite! For his milestone birthdays we alternated where we celebrated; for his 60th we celebrated at Brighton Marina & his 70th was spent at our home playing games and raising a glass. In 2020, we had the opportunity to go on holiday together to Centre Parcs with Christine and our niece Sarah. The holiday was lovely, just what we needed. I remember one morning huge fits of laughter coming from upstairs, Christine had walked across the balcony into his room thinking it was the boys’ room whilst he was stood there in his boxers. It was all taken in good stride. What made it funnier was the night before, when getting up to go to bed, Christine lost her balance and fell onto his lap whilst saying goodnight. Over the years, the little boys became not so little, and both William & James would always look forward to measuring themselves against Grandad. Either by height or shoe size. Grandad would always laugh and grab them both for a hug, he was always amazed at how much they had grown. He was so proud of them, always encouraging them to keep going. His love for them was immeasurable and always will be. Madjid, Daddy, Grandad, your legacy is in this room. You are and will forever be my hero. Your morals and integrity are incomparable. Thank you for all that you have done for us over the years. We will remember you; we will always love you.