I met Howard in the middle of the Velvet Revolution in Prague in November 1989.
In that hyper-charged atmosphere you needed to sort out very quickly who your friends were and who you could trust. Howard was observant, responsive, and great fun to be with in the midst of a situation where everyone's life was on the line.
On 4 August 1997 Howard turned up at Karaka Bay with Sandy Halliday. They had married early in the previous year.