7th August 2001

Sorry for the lack of wise words recently but you may have read the
note that Ket left on this page regarding a family bereavement.
Unfortunately my Mum passed away last Wednesday morning and I have
been up in Liverpool with my family. This means that I had to cancel
the planned gig at Gosport and apologies to anyone who was planning
to come along and had already bought their tickets but I will be
playing in Southampton again soon.
At the moment I am remaining positive which I think is the only way
to be in situations like this. I am very fortunate to have so many
great freinds and an outstanding wife to support me through what
will no doubt be some difficult times ahead. My Mum died of heart
failure whilst lying next to my Dad in bed and I guess if you could
choose a way to step off this mortal coil then dying at home with
your husband next to you would be the top choice. Twenty years ago
my Mum had her heart valve replaced and about ten years ago she
found out that it was one of a faulty batch of replacement valves
and since then she has lived with the knowledge that this valve
could have packed in at any time so the thought of sudden death was
something both her and my Dad knew could have happened. As it turned
out the valve was not faulty and she died from damage to the heart
caused by rheumatic fever when she was a child.
During the last year I have seen a lot more of her than I did in the
previous three years because I was going up to Liverpool to watch
The Reds and I saw her only last week when I went up to the golf so
I am very happy to have spent so much time with her in her last year
of life. I also spoke to her twice on the evening before she died
and this is something that gives me great comfort also. I would like
to thank the people who have mailed me their condolences and I will
get around to replying when I get a minute (some things never
change!).
I am travelling back up to Liverpool tonight for the funeral on
Thursday so there will be no chat this week or the following week
when I will be up there again for another service for the cremated
remains so you have Thursday nights free for the next couple of
weeks so instead of sitting at the pc talking to me I suggest you
pick up the phone and have a chat with your Mum or Dad if they are
still around.
Before I go I have to tell you about a horse race on Sunday. It was
the 4.40 from Newbury and there was a horse running called Mrs Nash.
When we were kids the whole of my Mum's family and their kids used
to go to Newbury to stay with my cousin who was training to be a De
La Salle Brother so the coincidence was too big to ignore so I
decided to have a bet on this horse. I placed a £10 win bet on the
horse and it came in second. It seems that there is nothing that
will turn me into a succesful tipster, not even divine intervention!!