One of lifes gentlemen

Yesterday we attended the funeral of The Welwick Relic, a sad day for our community. The church was packed to the rafters and many more listened to the service under a marquee erected outside. The day started damp and miserable, but at 12.30 the sun shone through the stained glass windows, and continued to shine throughout the service. At 12.55 the church bells rang and we waited for Bernard and his family to arrive. The Rev. Duncan Harris's disembodied voice asking us to stand as he led the funeral party in. During the service memories of Bernard made us all smile, something he would have approved of enormously. Here was a man well loved and respected throughout the community and further afield. A man who even in death was still raising money for charity. The donation plates were full of notes and coins destined for Dove House, Marie Curie Cancer Care and St Mary's Church. Bernard Blashill, a true character. One of life's real gentlemen, the world will be a poorer place without you. Though everyone who knew you was indeed truly blessed.