What can I say, its not often im lost for words tbh - but I was gutted Monday morning when I found out that you were no longer with us.
I will personally miss you immensley - you were more than a good comrade and friend to me and gave me so much support over the last few years - and not just in UNISON and the Labour Party but in my personal life as well - I will never forget the effort you put into supporting me and the amny good nights out we had - including you staying miles away in Birmingham to celebrate my birthday with me and dan (and to watch the footie of course)
There are so many people who will miss you but in particular our core group the "famous five" as you named us, me you Kat, Andrew and Jon R - later to become the secret seven with the addition of John b and Sean - will never feel the same without you.
Thankyou for your support for me but also for taking time to bond with our various kids - Tolpuddle will also never be the same without you.
Stephen will miss Beerdy man (not to be confused with Beardy man as we all know you) Beerdy man because everytime he saw you, you had a pint :)
I was with him when I was told that you had passed away and he didnt understand why you couldn't take your mobile to heaven and call me from there! - Everywhere has phones now days why doesn't heaven - something I am sure you would have found very amusing.
So this is the first of many posts remembering how wonderful you were mate.
RIP
Love
Marshajane
To me he was an ever present, a friendly face and a source of wisdom; real wisdom, not soundbites or bullshit. He was someone who was in the Union for the the Union, not for himself. Having recently rejoined UNISON, he was one of the people I was looking forward to seeing again, not because we were really close or I knew him fantastically well, but because he was one of those people you knew you could trust, someone who you felt, as long as there were people like him in the Union, it must be alright. He will be sorely missed.
ReplyDeleteChad Gething
I am stunned at the loss of Malcolm. I didn't know him as well as some of you, but I really looked forward to having a beer or several with him and the Croydon delegates at Conference. He was one of the friendliest guys you could hope to meet. I guess that everyone who met him would say that. He made you feel like a friend of his when you first met him. He was also a great trade unionist and I agree with all that others have said about his commitment to real trade unionism and members' issues. I wish their were more like Malcolm. My sympathies go to his family and friends - he will be sorely missed.
ReplyDeleteI met Malcolm at the first national conference I went to in Bournemouth. Our branch and Croydon went for lunch together. Malcolm was really friendly and a laugh. When we went to Brighton the next year we had so many more bars to go to and I was impressed that Malcolm had already sussed a good bar that opened late. He took the p out of us when we wanted to leave earlier than him because we were younger and couldn't hack it. That man had staying power!
ReplyDeleteMalcolm wasn't just a laugh and good drinking pal he was really supportive to newer UNISON members like me. I always looked forward to Malcolm speaking at conference and challenging standing orders and the top table. He was one of those people who made you proud of being on the left and a part of the United Left.
I'm really sad and shocked that he's gone. My heart goes out to his family and friends.