All round good guy Steve Walker was laid to rest with a service at Colney Woods which is a burial area just outside Norwich.
It was a very nice service with eulogies from Steve's two sons. His cousin Gary then got up to talk about Steve. He seemed to have a number of reminder cards with him. He told an amusing story from the first one, apologised for being light-hearted but said he felt that was exactly what Steve would have expected. He then tore all the cards up and proceeded to ask if I was in the room.
I raised my hand in acknowledgement wondering where he had got my name from and why he had mentioned me. He then read out my piece written about Steve in my e-magazine Hethersett Herald and said it summed up everything he wanted to say. There was a deep intake of breath from me and I was hugely honoured to think that the family found something I had written good enough to read out at a funeral.
I will miss Steve. He was always up for a chat and a laugh. Everyone will miss Steve. There must have been over 200 people at the ceremony and many others watching on the internet. Later there were over 200 in Hethersett Social Club to toast Steve's memory.
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We had a very enjoyable evening on Friday at a quiz organised by our friend Richard Headicar who is absolutely a unique person. Our team won but it was the friendship that I value (that and the bottle of wine we got).
I was surrounded by friends and good people all liberally insulting each other as we are wont to do. Anne issued forth on politics and for once I agreed with her.
Unions always talk about pay rises in per cent. "We are looking for a 15% pay rise," they say.
I'm not all that sure that they understand exactly what this means. 10% of somebody earning £100,000 a year is an additional £10,000. 10% of somebody earning £20,000 a year is just £2,000. That's basic economics and I'm sure somebody will put me right and say that I'm talking a load of old cobblers.
But it means that the gap between those workers widens even more from £100,000 and £10,000 to £110,000 and £12,000. That's a differential change from £90,000 to £98,000.
So surely what should happen is higher salaried people should receive lower percentage increases. That £100,000 earner should get an additional 2% say giving them an increase of £2000 a year. The £20,000 earner should get an additional 10% giving them also an increase of £2000. All's fair in love and war as they say.
Anyway Anne propounded this theory and my mate Chris listened intently and then said:
"How come you are married to someone who talks sense when you never do."
I will leave today's blog there with that thought.