All of us who knew Bert are going to miss him a lot. There's going to be a face missing both down here at Travelling Folk, Elsie's etc. and also in The Royal Marine up at Walton-on-the-Naze. Bert could be a cantankerous old whatsit at times, but it was all a front and made him all the more loveable.

We've all known about his illness for some time and Wendy has kept us well-informed of his condition on the thread about the Benefit Night which will of course now become a tribute to Bert.

My condolences go out to his children and also his sister Doris, who I met on the weekend before last.

Finally I would like to record a message of thanks to Wendy & Bill Simon who have done so much to try and ease Bert's last months. They have helped contact relatives, accommodated Doris and Rod for a time and were with him at the end. When I spoke to Wendy yesterday, she hadn't had any sleep for 35 hours ! Let's hope that she's had a chance to rest before she comes down for Wednesday Night.