Happy 40th Babe

Hope you're having a ball up there on your little fluffy cloud.... Rest assured I have had a drink for you. Miss you more than ever and I can't express how much I wish Isobel could have had the pleasure of knowing you. We'll save up some stories for her - from MFI to 'Barry & the Ting'; hockey in the front room to Rapidough - you're one in a million and have made me laugh and cry more than anyone on this earth.
You've been a shoulder to cliche on, a voice of reason, a partner in crime, a confidante, a companion, a playmate, a protector, a sparring partner, a best friend and a right pain in the arse.... everything a big brother should be and so much more.
You are the kindest, wisest, most insightful & inspirational person I have ever known and I look forward to the day we'll meet again. Well who else can I discuss all those hare-brained business schemes with..?!?

Cheers Bri - flaming sambuccas all round.

Love always

Em xxx

Poems

Inspired by Gina's comment under the 'texts' post..... This is a space for any poems you might want to share.
Em x

A smile in the sky

Somebody up there was happy with today's footie result....

Go The Hammers!!

It would seem that today is a critical day in determining the Hammers fortunes for another year..... Keep us posted here as to their fate!

Music - Please Comment!

Ok where to start.... We all know how much Bri loved his music - listening, collecting, playing, writing and discussing it over a cup of tea right through the night. His taste was nothing if not eclectic, and having looked through his collection it would probably put most of us to shame.
I really wanted to provide a forum for anyone to comment on songs that remind them of Bri - whether you knew a favourite of his (however embarrassing), or whether a song just reminds you of him. It could be a reminder of a special time or a song that has come to mean something to you since we've been without him; memories of childhood or something new you'd be wanting to discuss with him.

I started to jot down a few of my own, and 4 months later I'm still writing them down.... So for me, these are some of the songs, artists or themes that encapsulate Brian:

Bright eyes (Manics or Art Garfunkel); Motorcycle Emptiness; Jon & Vangelis; Carly Simon's voice; Quad Mod; Power of Love - FGTH; These Dreams - Heart; Boys of Summer - Don Henley; We are the World; Babybird; Jeff Buckleigh; Richard Hawley; Rita Coolidge; Wichita Lineman; Specials; Trojan Box Sets; Female vocalists in general!; The Sundays; Althea & Donna; Kurt Cobain; G&R Patience; Take That - Patience; Spice Girls - 2 become 1; Maria McKee - Show me Heaven; Crowded House; Adiemus; Bling; Bowie; Atomic Kitten; Stylistics; The Love Album; 80's slow tapes - Foreigner, Boston, Chicago; Susannah Hoff; East 17; Suzanne Vega; Jem - Wish I; Mel & Kim - Showing Out; Swing Out Sister - Break Out; Boy Meets Girl - Waiting for a Star to Fall; Kirsty McColl; LL Cool J; Aha - Take On Me; America - A Horse With No Name; Christy Moore - Ride On; Neil Young; Snow Patrol; Beatles - so many inc Across the Universe; Norwegian Wood...; Simon & Garfunkel - For Emily Wherever I May Find Her; Kelis; Kraftwerk..... and on and on.....

In the spirit of rembering him this is all a bit rambling and all over the place - and I'm proud that there's so much 80s tosh that clearly reminds me of him. Believe me, even if you didn't know him then - these were some of his faves!

So whenever you hear a song on the radio, or something pops into your mind that just makes you think of the lovely boy, please share it on here.

Thanks x

For the texts you want to send.....

or some of them anyway!
After wanting to text him about Tori Amos on Graham Norton the other night, the UK entry in tonight's eurovision and much much more.... I decided I would post here instead!
Clearly there are many texts we would have sent which will never see the light of day, but please feel free to share any that you wish...

From Bridget & Martin

It is so lovely for Martin and I to read your lovely comments about Brian - he was all you say he was and much more. He had a lot of physical pain in his life since he was 15 years old but he had such wonderful friends and sisters who saw him through more than you knew about. When he was a youg teenager our house was like Waterloo station on those evenings when Brian couldn't go out and his friends came in instead. Don't think we didn't know you were all smoking and had illicit cans of beer in his room!! You boys (and girls sometimes) meant so much to him (and to us for coming to see him constantly)- I remember coming down for breakfast one Sunday morning and finding one of you (Gary I think) frying up breakfast in our kitchen - and it wasn't for Martin and me! We learned to turn a blind eye as long as you were all safe in the house!
We didn't personally know many of Brian's more recent friends but he talked about you a lot, so we knew a lot about you and how much you all meant to him.
Thank you all very,very much for your support - Brian kept us all going with his great sense of humour - he teased his sisters endlessly but never nastily - he was lovely and we loved him dearly - still do.
God, he was untidy!! Sort him out for us!
Brian's Mum & Dad

Brian's hectic schedule

For anyone who's ever toyed with the idea of being your own boss - let Brian's hectic first day schedule be a warning to you. It's tough out there.

Thanks Jose babe for letting Bren & I peruse your diaries and get to see yet another one of Bri's achievements..

Photostory

As promised.... Here's the photostory we played in the pub (sniff..)


You can also view it from the link on the right hand side. Press (Alt+Enter) to maximise....

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who made Friday such a special day for our family. It was truly wonderful to see so many of you. Hopefully some old friendships were renewed and some positive things will emerge over time. Once we've figured out the technology (!) we will attempt to post the photostory on this site, along with his cd, book and I'm sure many other things..... Watch this space!

This site is dedicated to Brian McDonald; a place for those who knew and loved him to come together and to remember him. Please feel free to leave messages for Brian and his family here, if you have any pictures or other material you'd like to contribute to the site please contact Emma.