I have only just found out about Earl's passing. Too young as all good people are. I will always remember the classical music playing in the shop, the cloth over Earl's shoulder and his morning porridge ritual. He told me that every morning he had porridge with banana & honey, even on the hottest summer day. RIP Earl, you were one of a kind. xx :)

My dear dear friend my girls and I miss you so much. We miss the fun we used to have and all the silly things we did. The corner job was such a fun place to go just to see you and listen to your music and talk cricket. We have no stopped thinking about you.

Earl took a genuine interest in customers including our children and always asked them questions. He extended a "line of credit" by way of an exercise book which we gratefully used on occasion.He loved to have classical music playing and often had a cloth nappy hanging over his shoulder. Maybe it wasn't a nappy but when you have 4 children you tend to think of things in those terms. Earl would always ask what I was making for dinner with the ingredients I would purchase from him and talked of his knowledge of that cuisine/ country. He was famous in our family for foiling a robbery in the store from a knife welding young man( Crocodile Dundee style) and coming to the aid of a man who was burning from an explosion in the van he was driving. Earl had his share of adventures just by being there in the shop and made alot of peoples lives much easier by being open EVEN ON CHRISTMAS DAY! Thank you Earl for saving me on many occasions by supplying an essential ingredient or flowers for that special treat!!! I will always remember you with a smile.

I don't know where to start. What I remember most about Earl is his generosity and his no nonsense advice and approach to others. Earl and I shared many afternoons and evenings behind the shop swapping stories and surfing the internet for which he developed a great talent and derived much enjoyment from. To the end, Earl was Earl. One of the last conversations I had with him we had been talking over the telephone and we had hung up. He quickly phoned back and said he forgot to tell me how nice my kids were and what fantastic people they had become and could I pass that onto them. He watched my children grow up from toddlers to their twenties. As a family, we are all sad about Earl's passing but are glad that he was part of our lives for over 18 years. As a friend, I will miss his wicked sense of humour and the wisdom that he shared with me. Vale Earl.

earl was the one who got me onto Twinnings Orange pekoe tea.

Earl the Pear we used to call him .My partner & I lived in the little flat behind the shop , the rent was cheap as Earl needed to use the loo He used to knock on the door and swan on in & say natures calling . We will miss the beautiful Earl the Pearl.