Such a lovely post phil.

it has prompted me to recall my fondest memories of the man i named Sir Tam of SHOTTS.
Tam and i were originally members of ORG and spoke through PM and on the phone and of course in our social room on ORG called the highjackers, TAM was always late to the room as he was a confirmed night owl .
One evening around 8 i recieved a call from tam saying it was time faces were put to names and we would meet for a chinwag [loved his chinwags did tam],

I met him in a lay-by near my house in coalburn and to say he was nowt like i imagined is an understatement , here was a small in stature baldy wee man smoking a roll up .

It was a cold night so we went back to my place where i had a coalfire roaring away and we could sit in comfort .
it was on this first meeting that i found a man with an infectious grin and smile and a dry wit allied with a down to earth outlook and i straight away not only liked him but felt i had always known him.

Now TAM drank coffee [no sugar no milk !! yeuk!!] i didnt have instant only fresh ground so i offered him that but told him it might be too strong for him !! " Let me try it he said" .
By half two in the morning and about 6 of these triple espresso,s tam set off for home but never got there .

he was so hyper with the coffee he just drove around for 4 hours blasting out his music and covering mile after mile .

He was awake for all of the next day and cursed me up and down but in his usual funny way.

so that was it , i had met tam and it was to be what i hoped a friendship for life , we shared a love of 75/zts , we attended countless meets including a national , we met up monthly at the famous HAWES INN meets .

He attended our wedding looking for all the world like PHIL MITCHELL from eastenders :D.

Tam was a one off unique human being , he told it like it was , he helped if he could , he was as hard as nails yet soft as a teddy bear , he held people in the palm of his hand with his stories and laughter and there aint enough room in this thread for the stories i could relate to you .

Sad News, condolences to his family.

George, a brilliant memory. That was the thing with tam I would pop out for a cup of tea and a wee chat and 8 hours later we would have solved all the worlds issues and dreamed up some new projects for us to do in the summer:D:D

Ill never forget the first time I met him, back in the olden days tam was a French car breaker so anything Peugeot/Citroen tam was the man. I popped into his yard to collect some parts I'd pre arranged to collect.

The price was 50 quid I only had a 100 pound note. I handed it to him and said sorry I've not got anything smaller you'll need to give me 50 back. He smiled at me and took the note and ripped it in half then handed me one Half and walked off.......................we laughed about that for years:D

Oh damnation ............................... that has just totally spoilt my day.

Although I never met nor spoke to him I have dealt with Tam via Pm for some bits and to say he was most helpful in a gross understatement.

I can only think now at least he is no longer suffering. The void he leaves will be impossible to fill especially to those who knew him.

My best wishes go to his family. one cannot even begin to grasp how theya re feeling now.

Very sad news. My thoughts are with his family.

I too crossed paths with Tam, albeit not face to face, his level of integrity and thoughtfulness seemed second to none. He did what he said and promised only the promises that he could keep. the others he told it like it was. A rare breed and irreplaceable I am sure. My and my families deepest condolences and may you be at everlasting peace Tam.

Thanks George and Duncan for sharing those memories. It put a smile on my face and a bit of a giggle, on otherwise a sad day. As mentioned by George, I am sure he would be happy to bring a smile looking down on us at a sad time....

So sad to read, i did not know he was unwell. RIP