Iggy a Tribute by The Wildwork
As a student studying Zoology at Manchester University, Iggy Fox made firm friendships that were to last him t rest of his life. And he founded The Wildwork, an international Facebook group for wildlife workers and volunteers which thanks to his old friends, continues to expand – just as he always dreamed it would.
IGGY – WHERE TO BEGIN?
You are the most generous and loyal friend any of us could have asked for, you have always been there for us, and in many ways always will be
Pierre and Jo recall that time you all took a husky on a walk, before you lost the lead and proceeded to chase this husky all over the park.
That time you, Alaia and I got on a ski lift for the first time, thinking “god this is seriously dangerous, I’m not sure how more people don’t fall of these”, not realising we needed to pull the safety bar down. We were idiots, loveable idiots, but idiots none the less.
We were always worried about your XR antics, fearing your potential arrest and getting into trouble, but quite rightly you were adamant that something HAD to be done to save this planet. Our fear and worry for you, however, was overcome with a sense of pride when we all saw our Iggy on the front page of The Evening Standard standing up for those without a voice.
We’ve been reminiscing over our trips to France; fishing, doing archery, having beers by the lake, watching sunsets together by the patio with you in your hammock. This last September you utilised the place in France to launch your first Wildwork retreat. It was clear that you had put your heart and soul into making it work; every single hour of every day had been planned out, including meetings, complete with XR hand signals. The term ‘organised fun’, came to mind.
That time you spent hours trying to teach Pierre to do any kind of gymnastics in the pool. Handstands, flips, you name it, but he was a lost cause. You held a gymnastic talent that none of the rest of us possessed. I wish we could one last time stand together in that kitchen in France preparing a plum tart with the fruits that we had picked earlier in the day fighting off wasps.
Those times we had together were always special, from that time in second year where we were sat in my room giggling like school girls talking about sex and somehow finding ourselves in one of your notorious massage chains, a memory that is safe to say is a fitting one of our Iggy.
At Pierre’s leaving drinks for India, you turned up but forgot your ID, so we all stayed out with you in the smoking area, of course. You brought along your vegan flapjacks. Those oh so famous flapjacks!
We are so happy you got to travel so much and immerse yourself in the nature you dedicated your life to protecting. You always brought back gifts, every single time you went travelling. These beautiful, thoughtful gifts. I think we all have pieces of jewellery from you, whether handmade or salvaged, you always thought of us and always brought something home. We treasure these gifts now, as a way of remembering a man we were honoured, to call a friend.
A hug from you just seemed to solve everything, it always filled us with love, inspiration and a want to pass that love onto others, as you did for us. Your presence, in itself, was infinitely inspiring, when we heard your ideas and plans (of which there were many), you made us all want to be better humans.
You believed in us, sometimes even more than we believed in ourselves. We haven’t just lost a best friend. We’ve also lost a part of ourselves. One of the best parts.
You had this passion, this energy. You would get angry, but even in your anger there was hope. You were like a fire that in burning, keeps people warm and brightens the world around him.
We are all so grateful for our last Christmas together. It will remain one of the happiest moments in our lives, the last time the 6 of us were together, it was quite simply perfect. It gave us the chance to say goodbye, just not knowing it would be for the last time.
We are who we are because of you, your drive, determination and passion will live on in us and we will carry you with us, wherever we go.
But, it is with a heavy heart that I have to say, our dear dear Iggy, it’s time to say goodbye. We love you and we will always love you. Never forget us, as we will never forget you. You will live on, in all of us. We will always treasure our times with you, our Iggy, our fox, our friend.
Visit The Wildwork here: https://www.facebook.com/thewildwork/
