Brendan's Goodbye.

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The graveyard. Brendan was not laid to rest here, he was Cremated nearby.

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Inside the Church.

This arch, made of stone, is one of the earliest & largest arches of it's type. Note the inner course of the arch is laid in stretcher bond, & the outer (or upper) course is header bond.

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This motley bunch were the Mods who attended, or those who were able to make it there. Robert was there when I arrived, then came Tom, Tighty, Kev & Jane. We were all there before 11.15 I think, for the 12.30 Funeral, & we spent a pleasant hour chatting about Brendan & stuff. It was really rather nice.

Brendan was a joy to have as a blonde, he never once caused the Mods a moment of work. He never complained, never caused a complaint, knew the Rules, & stayed inside them (only just, sometimes, he could be risque when he wished), & supported all the blondes, always. He was the ultimate low-maintenance Member - zero-maintenance in his case.

JonMW took the picture, & also there were Indestructable, Bainn, & Harmony. Claw, due to a misunderstanding, arrived a little late.

Claw had arranged a special wreath, in the shape of diamond, which a bunch of blondes had all contributed to, via a PM round-robin. I confess, on seeing it - it was spectacular, with scores of pink roses - I shed a tear. It was magnificent, & so worthy of Brendan. Thanks for sorting that, Claire.

Glenn (BigFella), a special close friend of Brendan, could not attend, as he is overseas.

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And so to the Funeral itself.

Everyone had dressed "respectfully", made a special effort, so I felt awful about my mistake in buying a brown tie, thinking it was black. Ah well, it happens.

The congregation numbered about 100, lots of family, & friends, including a buddy of Brendan who had driven down from Derby of all places - he lives very close to me!

Two Hymns were sung - Psalm 103, "Praise the Lord" & Psalm 23, "The Lord is my Shepherd".

Tom - Brendan's Son - had chosen two of his Dad's favourite pieces. One was (Mods who were there, help me, please?) "Bernadette" I think, a Tamla Motown song, & the other, remarkably, was "Ziggy Stardust, by Bowie. Amazing!

And so to Tom's speech......

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The shock in meeting Tom & Lucy is that they are so young - reminding us that Brendan was only 51. He was taken way too early.

Tom spoke of his Dad being such a "close" Dad. Whenever he found Tom & Lucy were available, or on holiday from work, he'd immediately rung up & book a holiday to somewhere distant - Orlando, or wherever.

Holidays were not easy for Brendan, as he had to locate & pre-book his dialysis carrangements, but it never slowed him down.

Tom then spoke of Brendan's "poker world". He suggested googling "Brendan Hartnett", (try it!) & there is, apparently, all sorts of stuff about Brendan there.

He then listed Tom's main poker "achievements".

Winning the 'Stars Sunday Night Biggie.

2nd in the APAT Irish Amateur Poker Championship.

A Member of the blonde Hall of FAme.

The sole inductee to the 2007 APAT Hall of Fame.

Next, Tom spoke about the "Brendan Threads" on blonde, in particular, those in memory of Brendan. He had read every single one, knew how many Posts, how many pages, who made them, what they said.

It was a wonderfully moving speech, & Tom struggled to hold his compusure a few times.

He & Lucy are both terrific kids, & a tribute to Brendan.

We then moved down the Road, to the Crematorium, where a very short Service was held, & we all chilled & chatted for a while.

One more Post, then I'm done.

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Finally......

It was not a sad day, not at all. Lucy was smiling throughout, smiling with pride.

The Service was upbeat.

Tom spoke of his pride - self-evident - at the lovely threads on blonde about Brendan.

So, please say goodbye properly, not sadly, please Post your thoughts on this thread, & Tom & Lucy will, trust me, be truly grateful.

On behalf of the blonde Mod Team, thank you.

The Thread is now Unlocked.

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Robert reminds me - the name of the first song chosen by Tom for Brendan was "Bernadette" by the "Four Tops".

[turny]

unfortunately due to personal circumstances i wasn't able to attend as planned but have thought about brendan many times today.

looks like brendan was given the send off he deserved

rip mate never forgotten

paul & charlotte  xx

[Colchester Kev]

It was both a moving and yet uplifting funeral, the pride and love for their father that just oozed from both Tom & Lucy was a magical thing.

Brendan always spoke with such pride in his children, and on meeting them today he was spot on and very much right to be fiercely proud of them.

What was also very nice was that Tom & Lucy had printed out every thread and post from blonde and after the service at the wake, there were several copies on hand and scores of people were reading them and smiling.

Tom did an amazing job with his speech, even the Bishop commented saying that he couldnt speak at his own parents funerals and he was in awe of Tom's inner strength.

To sum it up, Brendan would have been extremely pleased and proud of his send off, and rightly so.

[Karabiner]

I feel very privileged to be able to say that Brendan was a friend, a poker-playing friend and a thorough gentleman.

I will miss Brendan for his infectious good humour but every time I think of him I will smile.

[Dingdell]

God bless Brendan. Thank you for lighting up some very dull poker games. Your wit and ready smile will be missed. Tom and Lucy must be so proud that you have touched so many people hearts, I hope that you had some idea of what an impact you made on so many people lives.

I am so sorry I was not able to pay my respects to you at the church today but you were in my thoughts and many others too I'm sure.

It still doesn't seem possible that you are gone.

Tracey x

[gatso]

Thanks for this thread Tony, sounds like Brendan had a fitting send off.

Once again I have tears in my eyes reading this but at the same time a big smile as I remember the star that is Brendan.

So long my old mate, it was an absolute pleasure to know you, you'll be fondly remembered forever.