A good friend died last week.  Alex was over ninety, and had been ill on and off for a year or so.  His daughter, who lives on Islay, was able to be with him for an hour each day in the last week of his life.  

Alex was a very popular inhabitant of our town, and was a member of many clubs and societies.  A great walker in his day, he led us on our first walks in Mayrhofen, Austria, about 28 years ago, and we have been back many times since then.  He was President of the EK Mountaineering Club at one time, also President of Duncanrig Walkers, and was a leading light in the Speakers' Club in the town.  He told a really good story.

He was fluent in German, having studied it to University level for many years, and also studied Gaelic at the college in Skye in his later years.

He came from the north of the city of Glasgow, a true and proud Glaswegian, he used to say he came from' Lower Bearsden' in typical self deprecating Glaswegian manner.

Although Alex did not suffer from Covid 19, because of all the restrictions we couldn't pay our respects as we would have wished to do.  However, it was arranged that, after he was piped from his home by Archie,  the cortege would travel from Alex's home to the sports centre, and drive around the car park there.  The HG counted about 100 people there to pay their respects,all at social distance of course,  and he got the best send off we could give him under the circumstances.  I broke my isolation to be there.

 It was very sad, though, to see his daughter, Fiona, in the car following the hearse, on her own, on the way to bury her dad.  I wish her strength in the following days.