IT WAS with great sadness that I read of the death of my old friend Bill Gedge in the Times (July 8).

As many people will be aware, Bill was an accomplished pianist, and had at one time accompanied the great entertainer Danny La Rue.

He was for many years musical director with the Whitchurch Players and Dancers, and he and I worked together on dozens of shows.

You could always rely on Bill. He was that sort of chap. He would never let you down, whether he was playing for a pantomime or a carol concert, he would give 100%. With Bill at the piano you never knew what was going to happen next!

I think Bill?s finest moments were accompanying various dance classes. The children adored ?Uncle Bill?. They were ?his kids? and he knew each one individually. We teachers always maintained that Bill knew the exam syllabus almost as well as we did!

I last saw Bill just before he moved down to Truro, and although he had undergone serious surgery and appeared ill and frail, I could see that his indomitable spirit was still very much alive . . . Kind, generous, argumentative, obstinate, and very talented . . . that was Bill, and to coin a phrase, we may never see his like again.

However I am confident that somewhere, on some cloud, he has discarded the harp for a celestial piano, and is (if you will excuse the expression) ?Giving it hell?.

Thanks for the memories Bill. I shall miss you.

Carole Eager

3 Coombe Road

Callington