I attended the funeral of John Osborne today, an Albion fan who has been a STH for 40 years, not missed a league game for more than 30, and was seen up and down the country with his BN3 England flag at home and abroad.
There was a good NSC turnout too, from the likes of [MENTION=474]Mr Blobby[/MENTION], [MENTION=2900]Al Bion[/MENTION] [MENTION=310]ditchy[/MENTION] and [MENTION=102]Padders[/MENTION] too, amongst others.
Talking to his family, they were all appreciative of Paul Barber taking out time last week (when he had huge issues to deal with after the Palace game and prepare for Liverpool at the Amex) to phone John's partner, sister and son, in separate phone calls, have a chat with them, send his condolences on behalf of the club for John's support and involvement in the Falmer campaign, ask if they were happy with the contents of a eulogy to John in the programme on Saturday, and provide a supportive and sympathetic voice and ear to those grieving for the loss of one of us taken far too young.
He could have delegated it to someone else, he could have sent off a quick email, and that would have been a decent thing to do. He went above and beyond that, and shows that he gets the Albion, he gets what it is to be an Albion fan, and what it's like to lose someone you hold dear.
PB, you are a credit and a shining example of all that is good about this club. Thank you, it made a difference to the family, it shows why John loved the Albion and that his emotional investment in the stripes throughout his life was worth it. .
There was a good NSC turnout too, from the likes of [MENTION=474]Mr Blobby[/MENTION], [MENTION=2900]Al Bion[/MENTION] [MENTION=310]ditchy[/MENTION] and [MENTION=102]Padders[/MENTION] too, amongst others.
Talking to his family, they were all appreciative of Paul Barber taking out time last week (when he had huge issues to deal with after the Palace game and prepare for Liverpool at the Amex) to phone John's partner, sister and son, in separate phone calls, have a chat with them, send his condolences on behalf of the club for John's support and involvement in the Falmer campaign, ask if they were happy with the contents of a eulogy to John in the programme on Saturday, and provide a supportive and sympathetic voice and ear to those grieving for the loss of one of us taken far too young.
He could have delegated it to someone else, he could have sent off a quick email, and that would have been a decent thing to do. He went above and beyond that, and shows that he gets the Albion, he gets what it is to be an Albion fan, and what it's like to lose someone you hold dear.
PB, you are a credit and a shining example of all that is good about this club. Thank you, it made a difference to the family, it shows why John loved the Albion and that his emotional investment in the stripes throughout his life was worth it. .
