Dear All, Sorry for starting another one and serious apologies for the delay to response - We've seen how Roller has been trying to get this one to bed. Anyway - Saturday? Wow! Moving, humbling yet joyous in equal measure. David was somebody who always maintained that come the day, heâd want people celebrating, not lamenting his ultimate demise and boy did you all get it so spot on⦠But the wonder is, is how? How did you catch the essence of the man Brix through the machinery of the virtual world? Answer is evidently a two-tier one; primarily Davidâs ability to touch the majority of individuals gracing the Not606 site has been evident to see since May but in many ways more astonishingly, that a large number of you personally took the time yourselves to invest in others. You all took the time to read, listen and understand the man which is hard enough a skill when face to face let alone understanding sense, tone and perspective through the unemotional, cold face of the written word. Saturday? To us Saturday merely exemplified the efforts made in connecting with OUR (and that is all of you lot tooâ¦) Brix. The catalyst for the day was you Roller, who not only worked tirelessly in organising the itinerary, the venue, the piece in the match-day programme, the book of memories (which was lovely â thank you all!), the communication and coordination of those who took part but also ensured that we were kept in mind at each turn. Thank you very much Roller for all of your efforts! And yesâ¦as per your earlier instructions, we accept our long-term ban with a smile. David would himself be touched by your personal input! To each of you who attended thank you too. The time, energy, effort and money that you each personally invested into attending was truly astonishing. Particular thanks have to go to those who attended from as far away as Sheffield, Ireland and Norway. Truly amazing! The magnitude of the day is still sinking in for us. The passing of a loved one will always represent the biggest of lifeâs clouds however, how many people get a silver lining like this? Nothing but humbling and inspiring. DT also needs a personal mention and thank you from us for your contribution in terms of redesigning the board banner â looks smart and David would definitely love that! Thank you. And the Irish contingent definitely need a special mention for they represent something special within our family background. Upon seeing the Irish guys, Lou looked as at ease with drink in hand as she does when returning home to Limerick. More than this though, the presence of the Irish community was a fixture in Davidâs upbringing in Kilburn with many of his school / team mates being of Irish descent. Mick and Pat were always fondly spoken about by him as being two Cork-men who gave David a place to stay when he was on the streets during his mid teens. Whatâs that they say about kindness begetting kindness⦠The signed Irish flag, despite the wording / signatures unfortunately bleeding, was and still is a touching gesture. The theme of sharing is personified by the actions of all who have contributed warmth, care, words of kindness and on Saturday, physical presence. The Not606 family is evidently a model to follow for both the footballing and wider worlds respectively. It was great to see everybody out in force and put names to faces. Seeing those that weâve been lucky enough to meet before such as Ninesy, NUTS, Col, Goldhawk, Stainesy, SB73 etc. was great; each individuals in their own right yet wearing the common spirit of the forum in full. We were also lucky enough to meet those that were so regularly positively spoken about by David including Beth, Woody (the name is apt mate â the likeness is uncanny) CORKeR, Judo, Sussex, Tramore, Finglas and many more. Once again, big thanks to all. Thank you so much Roller for your efforts â without you, such a day would be inconceivable. David, if youâre looking on â this is the mark of the guys that you always spoke so positively about! Nuff respect. Pat & Deon x
20 Things About David (Extract From Pat's Speech): (1) David had a broad taste in music but particularly loved roots reggae & rock; (2) He played the acoustic guitar and thirty years ago we'd have regular jamming sessions in our flat; (3) As well as doing upwards of 100 paintings, pictures and pieces of artwork, David wrote a range of poetry, lyrics and pros and was a keen photographer; (4) We taught Bangladeshi children in south and east London to read and write; (5) We gave annual talks to big groups of Danish students about Brixton life in the 1970s / Early 80s; (6) David was a nature lover - he loved the green countryside / mountains in line with his Somerset / Swiss start. This saw him regularly frequenting the Scottish Highlands. He was never happier than when he was swimming in the sea, rowing on lochs or catching his own fish. He always wanted to get to see the gorgeous, craggy Irish coast around Connemara; (7) David once owned a motorbike which he attempted to ride up 3 flights of stairs to our Cowley estate flat when he was slightly worse for wear. He loved the bike for the freedom it gave; (8) David spoke fluent French and made a mean French salad dressing - his salads were always in demand at parties; (9) David was a great story-teller but was also a master of one-liners; (10) He had a great ear for accents with him being able to successfully speak with a Somerset burr. He was also able to do a convincing Cork accent as well as deceiving us by replicating a friend of his who hailed from Ulster - he could be a sod sometimes; (11) He was once a member of an am-dram society. Interests included us attending Fringe theatre at regular intervals; (12) Highly competitive David loved playing table tennis, cricket, frisbee, chess and other board games especially scrabble. He hated losing and particularly disliked if substandard effort was shown in any sport or activity being undertaken; (13) We would regularly attend athletics meets at Crystal Palace which would invariably result in our David doing joking around with athletes by the finish line; (14) David successfully wrote a reference for somebody who was a neighbour facing the end of their stay in England and who wanted to stay in the country. That neighbour, Earl, was none other than 'Wya' who was one of Bob Marley's original Wailers; (15) A couple of years ago, we went to see a family-friend Angela perform a number of Bob Marley's hits. She was backed on stage by none other than the aforementioned Way; (16) That same friend, Angela, played Yolande in Eastenders. As well as coordinating Angela's cab / transport services for her, David also directed her in a short film organised for the private hire's 'Enough' Red Route Campaign; (17) Not long before his untimely passing, David said that one of his proudest moments was when we walked arm-in-arm at the very front of the anti-facist rally with Peter Hain; (18) One of David's favourite customers when he cabbed decades ago was none other than Dan Ackroyd; (19) David used to play football in Queens Park with Jack Wilde - two artful dodgers enjoying the freedom of West London parks. David played football fro a number of teams including KingFishers and West Hamstead United which saw him being called up to represent Brent. He had been scouted for bigger teams including QPR but his unstable start rendered this a non-starter; (20) David managed a number of successful five-aside football teams as a leisure activity. He wrote to both QPR and Crystal Palace requesting a break for one of his 'young' charges and despite getting no response found that a season or so later (in 2001), the player, Leroy Griffiths, had been signed for the Rs - if you'd seen the smile on his face then. ...All just to give the Not606 a bit more of the flavour of the man! That's our lot for now. Thanks again. Pat & Deon
Pleasure and shame I missed it. Back at work today and the banner looks fine on my big mac screens but fully understand that some can only see parts of it ... I will develop it ready for next season and Brixton will always be on there. Never knew that Brixton spoke French and I loved the facts printed above Deon ... without doubt first time i was on here i knew he was a very interesting man ... one short meeting with him and his passion, intelligence and kindness was clear to see for me. I repeat my comment: simply put: I liked the man
Great stuff Deon, cheers mate. It was great to see you, Lou and your mum again. That list is impressive. Your father never ceases to amaze. That's not a bad CV, he certainly lived a full life. Take care mate.
Deon Was great to meet you, Lou and your mam again. I hope you all got a good understanding of what Dave meant to us all. We all had a great day. Regards to you all and please don't be a stranger.
Deon, very nice to get the oppurtunity to meet you, Lou and your wonderful mom Pat. Great memories. Thanks for sharing the list, was very curious about it when Pat mentioned it. Quite some achievements in there. Your mom and dad is very cool.
You are probably safe from my threat to ban the next person who thanks me Deon..... I'm very pleased that we were able to honour David's memory and the massive contribution he made to this forum and, more importantly, many of our lives. The willingness of so many to travel so far is perfect testament to the camaraderie he helped foster on this board. He really was a force of nature. Cheers mate and see you soon.
D, do you remember that story you told me about David watching the rugby at Dulwich? You will tell it better than I will.
A brilliant post Deon, I hope our support has been a comfort to you, which has obviously been a hard time for you all. It was a pleasure to share a few words with you on Saturday, I am sure Brix would be very proud of you, and your family. I hope we meet again sometime in the future.
Last Saturday was a great day. There are games we all remember for various reasons that stand out from the rest. QPR v Birmingham, september 14th 2013 will be unique, the day I met up with and watched the game with a bunch of strangers (sort of), and remembered a man I'd never met. It was a powerful experience. Hats off to everyone for making it what it was and (risks ban) to Roller for your fantastic effort from beginning to end. I said it on another thread, but the moment when you find out who someone is, is both brilliant and bizarre. I keep thinking of things I meant to talk to people about - Roller about counting crows, Beth about the levellers, Wubba about bounds green. Some other time. Pat, Deon and Lou, it was a pleasure, you are, and were, great. I hope we meet again.
Thanks Roller....... Deon...........fantastic post mate. So glad the day brought you all so much pleasure. Your Dad was a truly remarkable man!! I'll keep in touch.
We'll always have Bounds Green Woody Yeah i was annoyed i didnt get to the c&s until nearly 2 30 but big crash on M1 near Luton and heavy traffic at Archway kippered me - then had to collect my brother from Kings X and he'd nipped off to Nandos - that in itself is unforgiveable Would have liked to catch up with everyone but got stuck beside a couple of nutters who had flown in and the walking wikipedia that is Nines! Next match for me Donny away i think
Sorry I missed the game as well - Brix was as welcoming, understanding, and patient with me as he has been with everyone else, and it would have been great to meet up and celebrate his memory with everyone. For those that couldn't make it but are going tomorrow, I'm heading for the C&S before the game, so if anyone is able to get there and raise a pint, make yourself known to the 'silver fox' in the black Harrington jacket. That's not me, but apparently he likes to be approached in pubs... Naah - it's me!
Pat, Deon & Lou...... It was a day that will live long in the memories of those of us who had the pleasure of being there. Best Wishes Chris/Tramore
I'll second Col, Deon. After all that your Dad fitted into his 58 years, I'm feeling inadequate right now! Really enjoyed your post.
Yes Roller - how could I / mum forget!? Now all...welcome to the nightmarish bolshy Brix who just didn't give a sod. So imagine the scene. Beautiful playing fields surrounding Dulwich College, certainly not befitting of a working class family however, mum's vision and diligence ensured my ability to attend through the 11+ Assisted Place Scheme. And there I was, aged 17, standing as one of 11 footballers representing the Dulwich College First XI. My mum and dad (our Brix) entered the fold having parked up the vehicle, they proceeded to cross the playing fields from the car park towards my pitch. Despite being in the midst of the action, I noticed to my horror that my mum and dad had been joined by my then Headmaster, accompanied by a number of dignitaries. Now, mum was never the problem. She was the one who consistently attended parents evenings and similar functions; She was the one who liaised with the school when I was up to mischief again; She was the one who would be essentially the face of the family when it came to liaising with the College on all matters formal. Dad, on the other hand, was for the majority of the time, merely absent. He was an unknown face to the school, who wore his working class status like a badge of honour. He, usually ***-in-hand, would stroll in occasionally like Lord of the Manor to come and support our rugby and football teams and this occasion was no different. Subsequent discussions with mum and dad revealed that the journey to the pitch had been punctuated by a conversation between my Headmaster and dad (although he wasn't known by my Headmaster to be my father at that stage). The precise details of that talk fail me now but the bit that will stay with me forever was that my Headmaster led the conversation telling dad 'I played soccer for Hampton and the Cambridge First XI...I was the top goal-getter you know!'. He proceeded to, with a view to impressing the supporting dignitaries, inform dad that 'we pride ourselves on being an elitist establishment here at Dulwich College'. Well this, on any day of the week, would have immediately tickled dad inside with him being a bit of a lefty and having played football to a relatively good level. Dad, upon hearing the Headmaster's boast, enquired about the score and the success of our 'elitist' Dulwich College First XI team in the match. Unsurprisingly at that time, we were 1-0 down... And my dad found out on the back of my Headmaster's bold pronouncements. Problem! This discussion and the revelation of the scoreline led Dad to exclaim at the top of his voice 'Come on Dulwich. For an elitist establishment, you sure like comin' second don't ya!' Well this was literally the last comment I wanted to hear from the left wing; I looked for the ground to open and swallow me whole but as with many things in life, I had no such luck. I glanced across the pitch and noticed mum walking off, creating maximum distance between her and dad. The look on her face summarised the feeling - embarrassment. Further horror.... Rather than leave it at that conversation killing comment, dad wearing a wry smile, rapidly marched after mum emphatically repeating (at volume) 'Pattie. Why do you keep walking away from me?'. They did this for at least a lap or two of the pitch before Pattie (my mum) capitulated and grudgingly gave way to engaging in further discussion with dad. What was at the time embarrassing to the point of pain has served as a moment of comedy gold ever since! This is probably easier to catch for those who actually encountered the mischievous eye of the Man Named Brix.
That's the one mate, fabulous. Having spent a few matches at HQ in his company I can imagine it only too well.
I received a PM from Pat earlier today who asked me to reiterate their thanks to everyone on here, how much last Saturday meant to them, how so many people's kindness made the day really special and how blown away they were that so many traveled so far to honour David. She has a point, you're not a bad lot....
