a rather special man amongst us all...

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Today's service marked the passing of a quiet incredible gentleman from Hartlepool. Although a very unassuming man, as we began to connect with friends and family and research his eulogy, we unearthed just how involved and significant his life was to the study and preservation of local  and UK wide transport history. Described by friends and colleagues as "simply the likes of which we shall never see again..." 
After the service I found myself wanting to go and sit in the same place he had, and see and experience for myself exactly what we had described in his eulogy. And it was a very emotional and humbling experience.

"Picture if you will - a solitary bearded gent, wrapped in his trusted long black overcoat, a carrier bag by his side, sitting outside of Greggs. A cup of coffee in hand, this unassuming figure sits and quietly surveys… Never an utterance of judgement. Never a heartbeat of anything less than compassion and care. With eyes and a mind so keenly aware of even the seemingly slightest of changes around him. And with the sharpest of memories that could happily recall how this had all been in the days gone by…     
    
J would observe the world racing past. Earphones in, phones in hand, heads firmly down… internet, emails, texts, messages…Their eyes rarely daring leave the tiny screens before them. By contrast to J, they were lost in technology.  And sadly, all but oblivious to the world around them. And all but oblivious to this rather special man they were passing on their travels." 

Thank you for the comfort, calm and companionship you brought to so many J.