Pentameters Theatre

05/05/2026

Dear Friends, I have set up a just giving account to help raise some funds for Godfrey's funeral. Things are very new, very raw especially for Alice, Penny (Godfrey's sister) and Leonie, and as soon as we have a date for the funeral I will share it. The just giving link is, https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/remembering-godfrey-old?utm_medium=FA&utm_source=OF and the QR code below should take you there. Even just £1 will help enormously and of course through just giving, a number of charities also benefit. ,

04/05/2026

From Alice:

I shared this to my fb n Instagram with photos: https://www.instagram.com/stories/aliceancient/?hl=en

Last Sunday morning I received a call telling me my dad , Godfrey Old had passed..

I’ve found Singing Syd Barrett’s songs to myself and playing with my band makes me feel closer to him.. and pulling out books piled next to his bed I’ve found a way to feel him more through finding where he’d left book marks .. I haven’t yet felt ready to touch his harmonicas or his hat ..
his lion heart and devotional soul played through those harmonicas , he genuinely was a legendary harmonica player and I will always feel him now when I hear a harmonica playing (although never as well!)

I have him to thank for my life and my loves , we shared a contemplative nature as well as our love for music and books , trees and stars and a loyalty to our creativity, our bands and shows.. and for him also to my mother and the theatre they ran.

When my parents met , my dad was thirty and my mum said he looked like something from a William Burroughs novel, which he loved .. they envisioned a daughter called Alice sitting at the end of the table looking like an illustration from Alice in wonderland.. to be sure however my dad left for a year and whilst in the temple of Diana in Sicily had a vision of having this daughter with my mother.. he returned and told my mum and they got back together and very quickly I came through. Arriving into the world of theatre and hampstead Bohemia.

My dad always inspired my imagination as well as being very nurturing in my early years , I have happy memories of him cooking and playing his favourite psychedelic records and of riding his shoulders.
A year ago or so whilst he was in hospital I came to nurture him too and he gained the strength to have a heart operation and a year living free and doing what he loved ,- drawing and writing poetry with my mum , playing music and performing with his bands, dipping into his philosophy n sci fi books and visiting his favourite record n bookshops with me.

The last time I saw him was earlier last week at my concert at the dublin castle, Camden, where he danced with me and his sister who happened to be in London for that night only. A memory I’ll now treasure forever.

As I ride the waves of shock and grief and this surreal time I’m also filled with immense gratitude and love .. seeing how many he touched in the tears that well in their eyes.
It’s like one of the lights of the sky have gone out , or a pillar of this village that upheld it has fallen and yet we are still here .. he is still here and everywhere.
The resonance of his rich character and his creative force , his soul , his humour, his love reverberates on like his delay pedal sound effects and i feel him in my being and heart always.

My lion hearted dad, I love you so much.

‘I really love you and I mean you , the star above you Crystal blue and oh baby my hairs on end about you’ Syd Barrett

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01/05/2026

Death is unkind, expensive and with a litany of well-meaning officialdom robs the most bereaved of their time to grieve – and all just when we were regathering ourselves after 2025’s insults. Many of our challenges lie ahead, Alice, Penny, Leonie and in my own endeavour, we will honour Godfrey, his music, art and spirit, he/we/they/you will live on, we will regroup, renew, meet and share, collect and publish etc.

The Loss of Godfrey

A Reflection on Generosity, Bureaucracy, and Giving
Godfrey has gone, and now the light is dimmed,
Each moment taken, spent in queues and forms—
The well-meaning faces, but pockets primed,
For fees and stamps and endless office norms.
He gave away what little he could spare,
Not for himself, but for our hope and cheer,
His meagre purse emptied with tender care,
Investments made in kindness year by year.
Now Alice and Leonie are left alone,
Carrying the silence his absence has grown,
The world now seems less gentle, less inspired,
As bureaucracy rules where warmth once bloomed.
We mourn his passing; hearts by grief acquired,
And count the ways his absence leaves us doomed.
Yet in memory of what Godfrey bestowed—
Generosity, love, and dignity owed—
We’ll try to set up a JustGiving fund, so those
Who wish to honour him may donate, even just one pound.
For in the shadow of officialdom's reign,
His memory shines, steadfast against the strain.

Tomorrow, I will post Leonie's own perspective on bereavement

01/05/2026

“What about Godfrey?” I suggested. “There simply aren’t enough Godfreys in the world.” That would be the perfect name for him.

I’d been inspired not just by the name itself, but by this curious, bohemian fellow. To me, he was an incarnation of Tom Baker’s Dr Who—dark, heavy coat, trilby-esque hat, and a soft, sweeping scarf—wafting an air of literary wisdom and time-travelled musicianship.

Not long after moving to Hampstead, I’d heard stories of him and caught glimpses around the village—photos, press releases—and, of course, Friday nights down the King William IV pub. His harmonica playing… a sound that found and stirred even the weariest of souls. Mine included.

Later, a chance meeting with fellow poet Olive led me to Monro House—the Wednesday poetry group—where I was finally able to meet the Hampstead legend himself, and where my initial impressions were confirmed.

His wit, his anecdotal delights, his music and mischief, his art —but most memorable of all, his kindness. A truly remarkable fellow.

Safe to say, there really aren’t enough Godfreys in the world—not just in name, but in the unique, generous spirit he embodied. He shall be truly missed. God bless Godfrey, and all who had the good fortune to have met him.

©emmalumsden

29/04/2026

Lost and Found



Godfrey was always there, the band, Mad Dog Bites

He added to every song with magic mystery reveals

Harmonicas, jews harp, electronic wizard delights

At William IV, Pentameters, Parliament Hill Fields



When I was lost, distracted, my words gone astray

He had a tenderness, a self-effacing lesson for us all

Brought us back, his music we remember every day

And Dunking Doodles, his life with Leonie did recall



Their life devoted to each other, show all of us are dear

A place they shared, let us entertain for so many years

Blessing like no other, let our hearts open wide out here

We’re together in this salon, grateful for him in our tears



Lost without him, the lessons of his gentle soul carry on

Remembered, always listened to, time to make us strong



Christopher

28/04/2026

Godfrey
A skirl or shout, a whisper or a sigh
Godfrey can herd them into a sure seam
Of music to delight the famished ear
And lest the other senses feel aggrieved
He pictures what he’s heard and makes the eye
The ear’s accomplice to our benefit.
The arts can do that – but they need a hand
And here comes Godfrey ready for the fray
Though for the moment he requires the help
Of all that modern medicine can do
To make our Godfrey fully fit again.

To Godfrey
From Robert
With Love

Godfrey RIP

Sometimes a piece of prose needs illustration
To climb out of its shell into our hearts.
Sometimes it’s fitting that there should be music
Saying alone what mere words cannot speak.
All this was his demesne and proper pride
Ought to have made it clear how much we owe
Someone whose modesty bade him not name
His worth ; though gone from us now even those
Who had no first-hand knowledge of his work
Might sense the kindliness of the dear man.

Robert Ilson

26/04/2026

Dear friends, Leonie has asked me to share that Godfrey died yesterday. This is sudden and painful news, and its deep shock. I know all of you will be the same in sending our love and thoughts especially to Leonie and Alice, but also to everyone who knows and loves this hugely talented character. Rod

19/04/2026

Lovely words and pictures from Christopher

08/04/2026

An absolute must!, our dear friend of Pentameters, (Sebastian Wocker) has produced a fabulous account of his encounters with so many of (my) heroes - including of course my Aunt, the eponymous Leonie whose Pentameters has brought so many connections and joy to us all. Can't recommend this enough.

He's not sure why, but for some bizarre reason, Sebastian Wocker has and is continuously bumping into famous people — everywhere. From Hampstead pubs to Hamburg nightclubs, from backstage encounters to chance meetings on the Tube, Wocker has amassed an extraordinary collection of celebrity...

05/04/2026