I last saw Les and Irene about 4 weeks ago.
They were always keen to tell me that they were off to Scotland in their caravan. Last time they managed to close the M8 in Edinburgh when the van got witten off.!!
This time they had just returned from a trip down south and had remembered to get SARC some target string. I went round to pay and collect to find out that Les had been to hospital with a thrombosis in each leg.
I got a call 2 weeks later to advise that Les was rather "poorly" and was on morphine to ease the pain. He had been diagnosed with stomache and liver cancer in an advanced state.
I was absolutely stunned.
Les was a typical Love me or Hate me type of guy( whose bark was worse than his bite) but immediately the row finished there was no accrimony. I had many a "row" with him but I was still welcomed into his home and He into mine. I think that we were mates!
The SEFTA air gunners have lost a true Friend to the sport and one who will be sorely missed.
When we first joined Springfield 5 years ago he sold me a rifle for Craig, who was 12 then, it was a Cometa 50 with some old scope on top.Well worth the £25 I paid for it.How I wish I had kept that rifle for Craig and "made" him shoot that!!! LOL!! Leaving Anschutz, Steyr, Zenith and Walthers for me to play with.
You will be missed old fella but rest assured we will keep an eye on Irene for you.

R.I.P

Barry and Craig