This was a great loss to the LSS as Mark was totally dedicated to the School and had put in untold amounts of work over the years – especially as a Trustee and member of the Committee. Moreover, he was true a Sambista who loved the LSS and had been a member of the School for a number of years. Mark’s enthusiasm, his positivity, and his inspirational presence is sorely missed.

Mark had first come across the LSS at one of our many gigs at the London Business School in Regents Park, where he was studying at the time in 1998. As a result of seeing us playing he joined and got involved straight away. He was a drummer in our parades in the Notting Hill Carnival between 1999 and 2001 and helped out considerably with running of the school.

Dave Willetts said that Mark was “the most full-of-life bloke, always energised, enthusiastic and passionate. I only knew him as part of the world of samba and the amount of energy, love and heart he put into this was phenomenal, it was almost impossible to imagine that he had other things going on in his life and that he might put the same amount of energy into these too. He was a man who showed us all that life is for living”.

The LSS Porta Bandeira Katja Metz said “words just can’t describe the huge loss” to the LSS.

Our 2002 Notting Hill Carnival parade was part-dedicated to him (and Pato Fuentes). He was also remembered at the start of the first parade by the Paraiso School of Samba that year. A memorial for him was held at the London Business School on November 2nd 2002 where the LSS bateria played.

His father was a famous civil servant who died in 2011. His obituary was published in the Guardian – which gives a summary of his life and his families very mixed origins – something that Mark often talked about. See More

Mestre Mags, August 2002 and updated June 2015