Celebrate The Life and The Living!

Today was one of my best mates Alex’s funeral,  a very different affair in these days of crisis and coronavirus with limited numbers allowed in the crematorium and no purvey in a local pub or club afterwards.

Alex was one of the best, an outgoing,  gregarious character,  intelligent, charming and with a biting wit which he used to wind up opponents at work,  on the football pitch and in the terraces.

He was a semi-pro footballer before we worked together in IT,  clicked instantly and he played football with my group of pals for a few years were his class always showed.

He loved karaoke and would sing on any occasion.  Both of us love dancing and I wish that I had half his confidence in just getting on the flor on his own when a song played that he liked.     He usually dragged me up tho,  even although i love dancing,  getting up on my own isn’t really my thing.

Today,  around 100 people outside the crematorium and 25 or so inside including myself,  for which I’m very honoured.

The celebrant was the same person that married him and and second wife Laura 11 years ago,   a lovely celebration of the vibrant life of a colourful charactter and complete gentleman.

His passing last week was very sudden and came as a shock and I’m not ashamed to tell you that I had more than a few tears for him.

I’m going to miss my pal very much.

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The funeral was on the other side of Glasgow,  so after paying respect to Laura and the family and friends,  I stopped in at my dads on the way home.

He’s 85 and has been in serious lockdown for the past 16 weeks as he knows himself that if he gets this virus then its game over and contact is limited between his carers,  my brother Duncan and myself.

We sat chatting about life,  watching the tv that he watches,   usually series and movies created before I was even a glint in his eyes.   But its what he likes and I was happy just to be in his presence and listen to his stories of Glasgow and the mischief he got up to as a kid.

Someday, and hopefully that day isn’t anytime soon,  I’ll be the paying tribute to him,  as I did for my mum,  only this time i won’t have dad looking up at me with pride.

So while he’s here,  I’ll celebrate the living.

You should do the same,  it’s too late when their gone.

Cheers Alex,  cheers to you too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Much Is Your Investment Worth? #SolvencyII

How much is your investment,  your pension,  your unit trust,  your ISA worth?

Simple answer .. same as your car or house,  it’s worth whatever someone will pay for it.

Markets change, we all know that,  the value of shares have plummeted during the current crisis as uncertainty grips and the economy crashes.

But forgetting about the actual monetary value of your holdings for a moment as that is transient.

Imagine that a few tyears ago you or your pension manager bought 100 units in some fund or other,  this time next year you’ll still own 100 of those units .. right?

Not necessarily ..

Oh No Not My Baby – COVID-19.

The old adage that if you play with fire,  you will get burned has always beeen true.

But never more apt than for our NHS and care workers on the front-line dealing with patients who have the virus.

My daughter Laura has been working on the front-line since people started being hospitalised with the symptoms in early March.

She texted me a few weeks ago to tell me that she had tested positive for the virus and sent me a copy of the positive test.

Obviously I called her immediately.