Wind blown out of my sails...F***!!

[Jody]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss.

hope you're doing OK

[Dixiethedog]

I recently lost a mate who I've known since the start of secondary school, so thats 42 years. It's been quite a blow, and I went his funeral last Monday.
We used to go camping up in the fells and as it was when we had spare time it somehow ended up being between Christmas and New Year.
Always freezing and always a good laugh.
This was a bloke who did a tour on Iraq in the bomb squad, I only had his first name in my phone, didn't have his full details as I just didn't need em. He'd just rock up and we'd be off for the weekend.
<Shrug> just life I guess.

Your mate sounds like he was quite a character. I bet that he put more into his years than some 80 years old that I know could ever achieve even if they lived to be 100.

I sometimes wish that I had a friend who would just rock up and we could then escape on some sort of adventure.

May your mate RIP.

He wasn't called Weemie, was he? A mate of mine went to a funeral for somebody who sounds very much like the way your mate sounded. Ex army, game for a laugh with no f***s given. Top bloke.

He was called Kev, he possibly had nicknames in the forces but I've not heard em.
He had a heart attack about a week before he died but was on a respirator and reading between the lines was pretty much cabbaged since the heart attack.
They gave him.a bit of time then pulled the plug on him.
Reads like I'm bitter about that but I'm not at all, I wouldn't put a dog through that kind of living.

May your pal Kev RIP.

I am with you on this in that I would not put a dog through that. But even from the small amount of things you have said about Kev, he sounds like he was a smashing bloke. I'll bet they are able to say that you have been proud to call him a friend.

[Dixiethedog]

I am sorry for your loss and know of Andrew and the search that had taken place when he went missing.
Very sad news and a very much liked guy locally.

Thanks for that Big Red. I am still at a total loss as the news hit me like a ton of bricks.

When I read the news (from a Scottish online news report) about him having gone missing this made my stomach turn.
Had he simply gone out for a walk, maybe had a fall or accident and sadly passed away or I wonder if things had been so bad he had taken another alternative. I believe he had left his phone at home, but so what, my wife left her phone here the other morning by accident when she went to work, and she lives on the thing. So it can happen.

Anyway, I won't speculate. He is at rest now.
He was liked locally, but also further afield.
He was a really nice man.

And I am still trying to figure out what to reply to his daughters e-mail. I know all of the things that people say, but I want to word things nicely and do the right thing. Which of course get his bike bits back to Bonny Scotland where hopefully somebody when the time is right might take over his build and get it finished in his honour.

[mangocrazy]

I feel your pain. I'm attending the funeral of my younger sister tomorrow.

Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

I am sorry to hear this sad news. I hope that the day goes off smoothly. Condolences to you, your family and all of other people around your sister. May she RIP.

Thanks Dixie, The day went as well as a funeral ever can. The one good thing to come out of it is a firm commitment from all of the family to see each other much more regularly. Shame it took Moira's death for that to happen.

[Supermofo]

Somehow missed this, really sorry to hear your news mate. I lost my father in law and an uncle I was really close to in Jan/Feb, proper gut wrenching losing loved ones. Makes you realise you need to make the most of all the time you've got with people. On the mate front I lost one of my best friends back in 2015, he went to the cinema came home and his Mrs was asleep with their daughter so he went in the spare room to sleep and never woke up. They never really found out what killed him, he had epilepsy so that's the suspicion. He was only 40 and fit and healthy, absolutely floored me when it happened especially as his daughter was the same age as mine at the time (18 months old) and we'd just the week before been chatting about the girls, still screws me up now thinking about it. Still think of him often though, we had some awesome times.

Take care.