129 not just been born before the SecondWorldWar. They had fought in it. They were born in a world where Britain had an Empire. Indeed, some of them had ruled it. I recall one Master had been a District Commissioner in Africa before taking up teaching. While some Masters had a benign laissez-faire liberalism, others were clearly fighting a rear-guard action against what was then the ModernWorld. It made Brentwood a terrifying and confusing place. The short point which, in a lawyerly way, I went on to express at some length following that preamble was that change is unsettling but don’t be surprised when the future surprises you. It’s what history has a habit of doing; and my relationship with Brentwood School and with Mike in particular illustrated how unpredictable the world is. In 1973 starting out in a terrifying place like Brentwood School, I couldn’t have predicted that I would be asked back to the School to entertain some socially ignorant sons of Essex men. I certainly would not have predicted I would also end up giving a speech to their socially ignorant daughters. In 1973, with the benefit of a Brentwood education, I could probably have predicted that Young Mr Willis would one day become Old Mr Willis. In 1973 I would never have predicted that I would get to meet him as a friend and to discover that he was an open-minded person who, despite appearances to the contrary, had embraced the changes for the better which had happened over the past 40 years. I would also not have predicted how terribly sad I would be when I heard that I had lost a friend and teacher. I now miss and will continue to miss a man who always challenged lazy conventions while remaining unfailingly goodnatured, and who could change his mind while always being his own man. I also owe Mike dinner. It will have to wait for the great celestial symposium. By Jonathan Karas Q.C.
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