"Goodbye Flower"

Mrs James rang me this morning with the sad news that Gay Gordon had passed away.
" He died quietly in his sleep" she said , the irony plain in her voice.
Gay Gordon, as we all know, never did anything quietly.
The village will miss the old motor mouth, famous for booming " HELLO FLOWER" at every turn and for pouring a whole bottle of brandy into a gigantic fruit cake, so big that it had to be transferred to the Flower Show tea tables via invalid trolley.
Gay Gordon was  not gay, but he was as camp as a row of tents and by all accounts he was a bit of a lady's man before ill health and good living took its toll but despite everything he remained resolutely cheerful albeit in a fey Brian Blessed kind of way in his final years with Big Mary over in the pensioner bungalows in Trelawnyd.

I called in with a card for Big Mary, though she can clearly no longer be called " big Mary" anymore given the amount of weight she has lost over the past year. She was understandably tearful and upset but managed a laugh at the card inscription.
Trelawnyd will be a dull place without him 

Riding into his final sunset
Gay Gordon and his invalid trolley
RIP

66 comments:

  1. Sorry for your loss. We lost a neighbour who was always good for a laugh. Never thought we would miss the old reprobate so much. Our families are usually bigger than blood aren't they?

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    1. I do remember him telling The Prof about how he used to gut chickens and drape their innards around his shoulders in order to scare the farm children.....
      The Prof replied with a rather shocked " how lovely!"

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  2. I am sad to read this today John. Another colourful character leaving the village. Who will make the giant alcohol infused fruit cake for the flower show now? Rip flower. x

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    1. It was so large we cut it up into chunks and sold it

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  3. Very sorry indeed, J.G., for you and all the village. Some of the colour now disappeared from your lives for sure with such a memorable character gone. We feel your gratitude for his memory.

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    1. I am auditioning for colour chatacter replacements very soon!

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    2. You;re putting yourself on the short-list, naturally.

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  4. Your words make me wish I lived in your village and knew your people. May we all embrace our neighbors, with all their idiosyncrasies and craziness, as wholly as you do; enjoying their stories and refraining from dismissing them. RIP Mr. Gordon.

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  5. That is very sad. He was part of the rich tapestry of Trelawnyd that you depict so well.

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  6. When I saw the heading I thought of Gay Gordon but with a different post. This one was a shock for me.
    Village life with miss him and I know we will too.

    cheers, parsnip

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  7. Please dear man- could you write my obituary now so that I may just keep it on file for when the time comes?
    What a beautiful post.

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  8. You have made me feel like the villagers are my neighbors, too. Keeping a good thought today for the memory of Gay Gordon; Big Mary and all his loved ones are in my heart.

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  9. Sad. The whole village will be in mourning. Hugs to them and his Mary.

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  10. So sad, and so sorry. Wishing everyone there peace and healing. What wonderful legacy, missed by people around the world who met him only through your writing.

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  11. I second the comment by Travel. What a character he was.

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  12. Very sad news...so sorry for your loss. The village will feel his absence.

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  13. So sorry to hear this.

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  14. Somewhere on the other side folks are being greeted with 'hello flower'. By your description he lived an enthusiastic life. May we all do the same.

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  15. goodbye gay gordon! good travels!

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  16. Oh, how sad . . I am sorry for your loss, the loss the whole village will no doubt suffer. I know it will be an adjustment, not hearing "Hello, flower" now and then ..
    It is so sad when we lose people we enjoy but we can be so thankful that we knew them at all.

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  17. Oh no! I knew as soon as I saw the title of your post that Gay Gordon must have passed away. I always giggled whenever you mentioned him bellowing "HELLO FLOWER!" I'm so sorry to hear this. RIP, Gordon.

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  18. Oh your village dynamics are changing with the loss of some big characters. Thank you for sharing these wonderful people with us.
    I miss some of my favourite village characters sadly departed.

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    1. Im sure some others will morph into bigger and better characters!

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  19. So sorry to hear this very sad news. Whenever I met Gordon out walking in Gronant or Prestatyn he would say hello flower how is your pastry. He always made us laugh

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  20. A tune to say goodbye to Gay Gordon....
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJsP7Y-41_Y

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  21. Aww, he was indeed a character, one we have come to love through your posts....
    Yes, off into the sunset on his invalid trolley, is how I shall remember him.
    RIP fine Sir.
    ~Jo

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  22. Gordon will be making brandy cakes for the angels.

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  23. Another great character gone from the village. It's definitely a quieter place now that both he and Peter have gone. They'll be having a great party together somewhere.....

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    1. One in an invalid trolley and the other with his red shoes!

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  24. Big shoes to fill, John!
    My condolences to you and the villagers.

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  25. I'm sorry for your loss and the loss to village life. It takes all kinds, in a good way.

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  26. Life as a "character" makes one remembered. I am sure his name will come up in conversations for years to come. RIP Gay Gordon, you made your mark (at least in Blogland).

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  27. Sorry to hear of Gordon's passing. Glad to hear it was private and peaceful, we should all be so lucky in that.

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  28. So sorry to read this. The people of your little village have a special place in my heart thanks to your wonderful writing.Peace and love Gay Gordon on your journey into time and eternity.

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  29. I'm so sorry. please give condolences to Big Mary. She's luck to have her village friends support her at this sad time.

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  30. :(

    so sorry to read this about a nice village person. please convey our sympathies to big mary and the other inhabitants of trelawnyd.

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  31. My sympathies to everyone whose lives he touched. He sounded like a true character!! -Jenn

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  32. I'm so sorry you have all lost Gay Gordon.

    In these days of highly medicalised and managed death, maybe a quiet slipping into the night was a typically flamboyant way to go?

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    1. He was in the hospice ..they are so nice there

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  33. Goodbye, Gay. You did it all right.

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  34. Memories and stories to tell live on.
    Thank you for sharing, John.

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  35. I think we all have these bigger than life characters living in our neighbourhoods but it tales a village environment for them to stand out and shine. Thankyou John for bringing his colourful personality to the blog for us to share, it's sad his time has come

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  36. A character and a courageous man I think. There is something magnificent in living joyfully when the chips are down.

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  37. So sad to hear that...I love that you called him Gay Gordon..I hope "little" Mary is ok.

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  38. Have always loved the Gay Gordon stories and am so sorry for the void he leaves for Miss Mary and his friends in the village. Your words were perfect. X

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  39. Very sad when a pillar of the community leaves home.

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  40. When I was at boarding school we had dancing lessons before the annual school "Formal Ball" (definitely in capitals) - I loved dancing the Gay Gordons - it was relatively easy and had great rhythm and moves.

    You will all miss your own Gay Gordon, we in bogland join in sending our condolences to Big Mary, and you all. Someone definitely needs to make a big, well 'soaked' cake for the next village event in his memory, don't you think?

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  41. Sorry to hear the very sad news, but at least he was able to go quietly in his sleep. Condolences to Big Mary and you all.

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  42. RIP Gay! I'll miss hearing about him among your encounters around town, John.

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  43. Once again your blog has touched me about someone I felt I knew but had never met. I will miss him! RIP
    Peter

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  44. So sorry for your loss. I am a newcomer to your blog, and gradually getting to know the people in your village. You have given him a bit of immortality in your writings. RIP and God bless

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  45. Just catching up. So sorry to hear the sad news about Gay Gordon he will leave a void in your blog and I felt I knew him, condolences go out to Mary big or small its a matter of perspective hey.

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  46. I'm so sorry to read the news of Gay Gordon's passing. I will miss hearing the musings of village life with GG amongst them. True, Mary will need the villagers to check on her now and again. May he Rest In Peace.

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  47. Awwww ... so sorry to read this. Trelawnyd has lost one of it's main characters.

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