David Gould has been at the heart of the Shakespeare Institute community for the past 35 years. Losing him on Thursday 8 April, after a short and sudden illness, shocked us all. As anyone who met David knows, he was among the kindest, gentlest, most quietly supportive people, and we want to pay tribute to his life and work with a memorial in the Shakespeare Institute gardens. We are collecting money here for a memorial, with any additional funds to be split among the charities that David nominated in his will: Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Guide Dogs Association for the Blind, People's Dispensary for Sick Animals, and The Donkey Sanctuary.

David's funeral will take place on Monday 26 April at 4pm UK time. The hearse will drive past the front of the Shakespeare Institute on Church Street at approximately 3.15pm. All are welcome, socially distanced along the street. The service will also be livestreamed. Please email Rebecca White at r.t.white@bham.ac.uk for the link.

'One touch of nature makes the whole world kin' - thank you David for bringing us together for so many years through your magnificent work in the Shakespeare Institute gardens.