Frank Davis - RIP

 I've not written anything on this blog for quite some time. In fact it's been that long, Blogger has changed everything. Now I'm going to have to learn the new interface

Also, I doubt there's anyone still out there with their eye on this blog, but if you are reading, thanks for dropping by Moose Meadows once again

The only reason I am back is the sad loss of Frank Davis, who passed away peacefully in his sleep a couple of weeks back. Everyone who knew him, read his blog or visited his online smoky drinky bar would agree Frank was one of the good guys and his passing will leave a void

The service was held last Saturday and I had the opportunity to attend along with Mrs Bucko and 20Rothmans, who you will know from Franks blog and also attended the Smoky Drinky bar as one of the regulars

Frank lived in Hereford, which was a three hour drive for myself and Mrs B. It was ok on the motorway until we left the M5, but then it was 30 miles of country road hell to get to the Premier Inn where we were staying. Hereford really is miles from anywhere

The service was very nicely done and somewhat emotional in places. I've embeded the video below

The main theme was of course the smoking ban and how it affected Franks social life and how angry he was about the whole thing, which prompted 'Banging on About the Smoking Ban'. That wasn't all though. Frank was involved in many things, some that I knew about, like the Idle Theory and The Theory of Ice Ages, but there was plenty of other stuff I wasn't aware of, much of which I'm not ashamed to say, was way above my reading level

We had the chance to meet Franks brother who had nothing but praise for the online community of Franks blog and the SDB. He told us that Frank did not have a large circle of friends in the real world and we had become his community and support network. He repeated his praise a number of times for those who read and commented on Franks blog and he was very grateful to all those people for giving Frank a network of friends he otherwise probably would not have had

We were invited back to his house for a brew after the service, which was another 20 miles of country road hell, but a georgous house on a hill with lovely views. Following a brew and a piece of cake, we were invited to go on a family meal with them, where we had the chance to sit and get to know other members of the family

They were all really friendly and welcoming people, considering it was the first time we had ever met. We all got on very well and will keep in touch

After it was all over, we had to drive straight to Manchester airport. We booked a holiday to Cyprus and the service was the day before we flew. I'm glad it landed on the Friday and not the Saturday, as we would not have been able to attend and would have missed out on so much

So now I'm sat outside an apartment in the shade of the blazing Cyprus sun, having a smoke and reflecting on the life of a friend lost

To me, that's the best thing about having been involved in blogs, both writing and commenting. I have friends who are older than me, richer than me, more educated than me and live in places of the world I may never see. But that's the beauty of the online community, you get to 'meet' people you never would do in real life

I'm happy to say I did get the chance to meet Frank in real life as well as online. It was shortly before our other friend Nisakiman passed away. Frank wanted to drive down and meet him for a beer, so a couple of us went down too. You've no doubt seen the photos on Franks blog

Originally Frank offered to let me stay at his place that evening, due to the three hour drive. He told me he had a spare bed, but it was dismantled and I would need to help him put it together when I arrived

Once we made the final arrangements, it turned out we were meeting Nisakiman a good drive away from Franks, so I would have to stick to coke anyway, as I would still be driving, so I decided to not put Frank out and just drive back home once the day was concluded

I told Frank this when I arrived and he said he was looking forward to may visit and had already assembled the bed. He also told me he had found a bedside table and put it by the bed with a reading lamp and an ashtray

I felt rather guity after that, but he took it in good humour

I didn't see him in person after that, as his legs were not so good and he gave up travelling and nothing else came up that would put us in the same kneck of the woods. We still had many an evening on the SDB with the other regulars though

Frank told us that he had lived a full life that that was apparent from his stories on the SDB. He always began a tale with something like, 'When I lived in Brazil...', or, 'So I was in Japan...', or, 'I was trying to get on a boat in France, but I couldn't speak a word of French...'

There was so much more to Frank that banging on about the smoking ban and I for one will certainly miss hearing his tales. He experienced more in his life than I am ever likely to do

I will miss him

Best regards to you all

Bucko & Mrs Bucko

(Update: Emily has also posted a tribute over at Legirons place)