Rod Souter
On an appropriately drear day, some 200+ souls gathered at Willerby Crematorium to mark Rod's passing, and whereas the vicar of Rod's village had never known him, Rod's work colleague, gave an accurate and moving eulogy, raising more than a few chortles.
I often marvel at the courage of wives left to cope with the stresses and demands of dealing with their partner's demise - no more so than when they stand at the exit of the church/crematorium/hall saying, "hello & thank you for coming & goodbye" to a few hundred folk, many of whom they have never set eyes on before.
Rod's wife; Chris, managed this task with grace and gentility - much like the man himself - and Chris made us feel both welcome and valued on a day when she surely had much on her mind. A gentlewoman of parts, but then Rod could always see the true value in any deal and I should not be surprised to discover that his wife is rather special.
Jim McS. left @ the end of the funeral pleading a case of, "I'm needed back @ work", well there's a first time for everything!
Those of us who made the journey on bikes decided to give the funeral lunch a swerve and we adjourned to Seaways cafe @ Fridaythorpe to toast Rod's memory in tea and all day breakfasts - if the fog had been just a little lighter it had been our plan to ride to Whitby for fish & chips @ the Magpie, but being soft fair weather motorcyclists we took the easy option.
The food was OK and the company was excellent, and we spent a leisurely couple of hours chatting about all things bike & Rod & memories & bo**oc*s.
Having exhausted most of our store of reminisces, we went our separate ways, Micky back home to Balby, Fritz to Thirsk & Dave & I to Squires for AJ's evening.
Despite the poor weather a couple of hundred people turned up @ Squires and much was made of the new 1600GT on show in the far lounge - AJ's have a strong link with Squires, having been there for the opening day of their current cafe & plans are in hand for them to have a full "demonstrator day" @ Squires in September.
Howie arrived not long after Dave & I and it was good to see him looking so well, although the news of Rod's death came as an unpleasant shock, not least because Howie's family have recently had a bereavement.
Whilst most of us were chatting, several of the Yorkshire chapter turned up and a couple of the usual suspects set to in the trough.
Kev started to get ready to leave at approx 19:00, eventually riding off into the murk just past 20:00, beating the AJ crowd by a mere 10 minutes - the boy's getting quicker in his old age!
I hung about on the off chance of a couple of Hawgs turning up, but given the poor weather, full dark, slimy roads and decided chill, I was apparently wasting my time - I'll get photos next time and just let them attempt to stop me publishing the evidence!
A long and varied day, but I think that Rod would have approved - here's to him and his memory - "a fine gentleman"
All the best, Jim.
