Spent Tuesday watching all the awful scenes from Manchester while trying to get some work done, just senseless hatred that I cannot comprehend and creating untold heartache for everyone involved. Despite not living there for 30 years there will always be an attachment to my home city and its people and from the reaction I have seen so far we are just keeping cool and showing class. My heart naturally turns towards the north west during this week of May and this year will be the 20th year it has done so as today we mark the anniversary of losing my Dad to lung cancer. I tried to read the words I wrote last year to make sure I didn’t just regurgitate the same stuff but even reading it choked me, if you knew him then just try to read this Quietly Superb – Tony Coe.
Thought I would google and see what the rest of the country was doing on 24th May 1997, results were pretty unremarkable to say the least, but I discovered a fairly basic element that it was a Saturday. There might have been football, rugby, gigs and all sorts of fun things outside our bubble of shock and pain that day but I didn’t even notice it was a weekend!
Struggling for words this morning so will just say that I love and miss you Dad and just wish you could have seen the 4 wonderful young people grow up as your grandchildren. I know how proud you would be grinning until your cheeks hurt like you’d eaten a pineapple chunk.
To show respect for my dad and for Manchester I will tonight find myself cheering for a United win in the cup winners cup or whatever shite name it has these days.
Tales from a Wandering Mind 
No surprise that you always find the words Adrian, it’s all thanks to your mum and dad the way you were raised,Tony would have been very proud of all his children and grand children you are all a massive credit to him, but it’s no surprise because your parents are two very very nice people it’s was very sad that Tony was taken away to early in his life,I’m proud to have been his brother in law and always will be, I wish he was still here one of the best I ever met,
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Thanks Uncle Ray.
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I remember I was working in a new job at a place they called the advanced engineering centre. When I heard one of “my boys ” had lost his dad and that he’d been offered a job back in Manchester I felt sure I knew what was going to happen. Wrong again Kinson; many years working together and then in parallel and always a laugh to be found. The colleague who “saved my life ” after the 96 semi final has become a much valued friend. It still has to come to me yet but when it does I will go back to the words of a young man who without gloss or fuss told me “you know Al, it’s really shit when your dad dies “; eat your heart out philosophy students.
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Thanks For the comments Al, much appreciated. Beer or bikes soon my friend.
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