Mick Gabony Tribute

After the events of yesterday, it seemed like a good time for me to write this. For a long time we have been meaning to pay a tribute to an old friend and colleague Mick Gabony. Mick died a year ago and although never an N&R FL manager, he always paid an interest mainly because his love of football and sport in general showed no bounds.

When I began work at Leslie & Godwin in the 80’s, Mick was there and in my early months of my insurance career Mick took me under his wing, I remember once him running through one of the larger casualty accounts at that time, BICC, and explaining how all the layers worked and what the different slips meant. He then let me loose in the market, asking me to meet him later in a pub to get my next lesson in the business!

Mick was one of his generation’s best liability brokers, his knowledge of the markets, their boundaries, characteristics, products and appetite’s was incredible. He also knew and was respected by every other broker in his class. To be held in such esteem by your peer group means as much now as it did then.

In our minds, Mick was one of the real characters of the London market, stories were in abundance of hilarious ‘Gabbo’ moments. I would like to recollect a few here.

I worked with Mick when you could smoke in the office, and if you ever worked with him, you’d remember that a ‘clear desk policy’ was not very near the top of his agenda. Mick was rarely without a lit Marlboro and usually his insurance company branded ashtrays (they were the days) were hidden under a pile of slips, files, and NTU’s. But the wooden desk provided a stop gap and Mick would rest his cigarette on the desk. One afternoon Mick was away from his seat and I sat in the next bank of desks directly opposite him on the phone. Something started to waft over my way and sure enough Gabbo’s desk was on fire. We couldn’t find a fire extinguisher anywhere.

On another afternoon Mick returned to the office from ‘the market’ slightly worse for wear, which was actually quite rare for him because he knew his limitations. However he was sat in that same seat, at least for a few minutes until he leant back and fell off his chair. Me, again sat opposite him in absolute stitches as I watched his feet waggle in the air. Ann Foss, who some of you might remember was a school teacher-ish Professional Indemnity expert who was well into her 60’s rushed to his help and tried picking him up. It was a comedy work moment I will never forget.

Finally I remember Aon having a party to celebrate something or other up on the executive floor, it had recently been refurbished at I am sure great expense. Mick was up there with his red wine, a drink he would always defer to after he couldn’t possibly swallow any more Guinness. He had this terrible habit of holding his glass at a 90 degree angle, maybe one shoulder was lower than the other I never knew, but a few of us kept telling him to watch it as red wine swilled around the top of his glass. The warnings were to no avail as he left a nice trail of scarlet merlot following his every move.

The next day we all got a collective bollocking as we were told the new luxurious carpet had to be replaced. The CEO was not impressed but Mick wasn’t pinpointed as the source, but we made him buy all the beers that day down in The Elephant on Fenchurch St. The Jumbo, Mick’s 2nd home.

I actually went to his house once, invited to his 50th birthday party thrown by his lovely wife Karen, a local councillor. We were all sat around with Mick on his birthday sat in 'his chair,' with the remote, and his son sat next to him. Mick had four kids if I remember correctly, and his son, Chris was looking up at his Dad with his coca-cola in his hand. Mick knew the sketch and poured a little beer into another glass and gave it to Chris to sip on, but would quickly grab it back at any sign of Karen.

Mick was a huge Chelsea fan, way before they were any good and a stanch Surrey cricket follower. He also was rarely without a Sporting Life in his slipcase and was a fervent but tactical speculator on the horses. He was simply a wonderful man, husband and Dad, but also a brilliant bloke to work with, to drink with and spend some time with. A wiz at quiz nights, what he didn’t know about sport, politics, and current affairs you could write on post-it, that’s if you could find one on his desk.

Keith and I would like to tribute the last season’s N&R FL to Mick Gabony. Missed by many friends. RIP Gabbo.