Like all who heard it I was shocked and saddened by the death of Jon Taylor. As far as the astrological community is concerned, I have probably known him longer than anyone.
I first met him in 1980 when I joined the Hull & East Riding Astrology Group. It didn’t take me long to realise that he was one of those people who will give you the shirt off their backs. His kindness and consideration were well known to many. I will never forget when I was stranded in Hull in early 1982. I was expecting a lift home by car but it had broken down, and I didn’t want to go back by train as I had lot of equipment with me which would have been awkward to transport. Without a word of complaint, Jon took his girlfriend’s car out of the garage and drove me all the way home - and then, of course, he had to drive all the way back to hull on his own. But that was the kind of unselfish person he was.
Many people, when they leave a particular location, fail to keep in touch with anyone from their past. But whenever Jon moved on, he always made sure his new address and telephone number were passed on to previous friends and acquaintances. He had a particular fondness for our Treasurer Hebe Holdridge, who dies only three years ago, aged 96. Every New Years Day, he would pop up to hull to see her, no matter where he was residing at the time. In more recent years, he established his own desktop publishing company, dealing mainly in reprints of crime writer John Creasey’s novels, and he sent me a couple for my birthday.
When Jon spoke of his birthchart, he tended to emphasise his Aries Moon and Ascendent. When he heard that I had spent four years in obtaining an English and Communication Arts degree, he said “Good God, David, I couldn’t have spent four years doing that. I want everything now!”£ But for the most part, I noticed his Sun, Mercury and Venus in Capricorn. Many years ago, he did a series of birth charts for various friends. Each one, framed under glass, was a testimony to his patient and meticulous craftsmanship; I still have mine hanging on my bedroom wall. Jon Taylor was what we in Yorkshire would call “a decent bloke”, although he himself was only from the other side of the Pennines. In the early days he reminded me of Bob Harris (he of the Old Grey Whistle Test) but with less hair. He lost touch with many of the old Hull crowd but I have passed on the sad news to as many of them as I can. They were as shocked and saddened as I was. I can only say that I was very glad that he was a part of my life.
JONATHAN COOPER TAYLOR: 11th January 1946; Bolton, Lancashire (53N35 002W26); 11:05am GMT