RIPs

[IAMTHESYSTEM]

Awful news and unexpected. Very sorry to hear about the passing of your good friend.

[The Legendary Shark]

Thank you all for your kind words, a great comfort.

I can't think of Bill without smiling, so I'll share the celery rustling anecdote with you, if you'll indulge me.

I was about 19 and Bill would be about 23 at the time.

I was driving my new second-hand car across Tarleton Moss in the silly early morning hours when the back wheel fell off, much to my consternation. My spare was flat and I couldn't find the errant wheel and so I walked a couple of miles to a 'phone box and rang Bill, who turned out to help me. I had a fairly powerful torch but Bill had one that could bring helicopters down and so we set about looking for the wheel, retracing my route and gaguing where it should be from the divot in the tarmac. It took us ages to find it, it had rolled into a celery field, leaving a spiral crop circle in its wake, which we followed until we found the wheel. We then followed the spiral back out again, for no other reason than it seemed the thing to do.

We returned to my stricken car and wondered how to reattach it as all the wheel bolts had disappeared as well, pinging off into the darkened grass and ditches. We elected to steal one bolt from each of the remaining three wheels and, as we were about our task, a blue flashing light appeared in an angry display and two coppers leaped out.

One of them cried "Bloody gotcha!"

We both looked blankly at the coppers as they looked in our cars. Finding nothing, they demanded, "Okay, where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"The celery you've been pinching."

"We haven't been pinching celery," I said, "my back wheel fell off and we've been looking for it in the celery field."

The coppers humphed, obviously the victims of a duff report from a farmer, and one of them said, "well, I suppose it's a good job it wasn't a front one."

Bill humphed back. "If it had been a front one," he said, "this daft bugger would be getting a ride home in an ambulance and I'd still be all snug and warm and asleep in my bed instead of fucking about out here in the freezing bloody cold at three o' clock in the morning."

The repair job then paused as neither of us could do anything for laughing and, at some point during the hilarity, the coppers got back in their car and huffed off.

There was a Kenny Rogers song in the charts at the time, "Lucielle," and, of course, Bill couldn't resist. The next time I came into work he led the rest of the lads in a rousing rendition of, "You picked a fine time to leave me loose wheel; three on me Lada and one in a field..."

Ah, Bill - I'm going to miss the Hell out of you but I'll never stop laughing at the fun we had and I'll always feel privileged to have known you. Keep a cloud warm for me, okay?

[Jim_Campbell]

Good story. Sorry to hear of your loss... good friends are hard to come by, and their untimely departures hit hard.

[Proudhuff]

keep the good thoughts at the top o the pile sharkie, its the only way... 

[sheridan]

Thanks for sharing the story!

[Dandontdare]

My condolences Sharky - he sounds like a real character.

[paddykafka]

That's a great anecdote, Sharky. Condolences on your loss.

[Old Tankie]

Sorry for your loss, Sharky.

[von Boom]

Losing good friends is hard Sharky. Condolences.

[The Legendary Shark]

Thanks, everyone - I love you all.

[Eric Plumrose]

Curtis Hanson

[Jim_Campbell]

Curtis Hanson

I loved Mmm-Bop.

[Spikes]

Bill Nunn, actor - most famous for playing Radio Raheem in Spike Lee's glorious Do the right thing.

RIP, Mr Nunn.

[Colin MacNeil]

My precious little pup, Jana.
24/12/02 - 26/09/16

She came in to my life and made a basket of my heart.


My Master is the Shepherd

My master is the shepherd
I follow at his heels
Looking for the lost ones
We stroll among the hills

My master is the shepherd
I gather in his flock
Hearing his commandments
Together we will walk

My master is the shepherd
I wait upon his upon his word
Telling me the secrets
Of legends never heard

My master is the shepherd
I love him through and through
His kind and gentle ways
Forever will be true

My master is the shepherd
Through seasons we will go
From lambing springs and summers
To winter's howling blow

My master is the shepherd
When I am done and old
I'll come to him a running
Upon the hills of gold

[Jim_Campbell]

Aww, man... fourteen years is a long time to make a place in your heart. That's so sad, Colin.

(I hate this thread.)