I think it was 1977 when I first met Pat He came to work with us at Alida packaging and he wasted no time in fitting in with the crowd on shift. He was a complete bloody loon, much the same as most of us. It also helped him tremendously by being a Nottingham Forest lunatic fringe member. We bloody loved him, and so much looked forward to going to work, as every day was a laugh a minute. Mind you, we got the work done despite all the fooling about.
After he emigrated to Canada, and me and my family moving around the country with work commitments we kinda just lost touch. I often thought about him but didn't know how to find him. Through Facebook, and after what was probably 45 years Maria and Pat found me. How time flies! This resulted in us being in contact on an almost daily basis for the last almost 3 years of his life, and it was almost like we had never been apart. Our loss though, was Canada's gain and I'm as sure as I can be that as far as he was concerned, nothing much changed, and he would have formed a good group of friends out there.
I so wish I could have taken him to watch our beloved Nottingham Forest at the city ground, just for one last time, but sadly, due to his failing health it could never be. However, whenever I go there, for every time in the rest of my life, I promise faithfully that when Mull of Kintyre is sung before every kick off, I will be thinking of him, and I know he'll be there with me.
Rest in peace ya mad bastard red dog. I'll see you soon enough. UP THE REDS! X
