An epic journey to the end of the line
DAD arrived for his funeral in typical style. He’d had his coffin specially made — a replica of the railway carriage he and Mum had travelled in for their golden wedding celebrations on the Northern Belle. On the rear was a sign saying: ‘The end of the line’. My father’s motto was, ‘one life; live it’, and he really did. Born in Royton, Lancashire, he was unable to walk for two
years as a child because of illness. It made his passion for endurance cycling — more than 250 miles in 24 hours — all the more astonishing. In 1952, after marrying our mum, Jean, his childhood sweetheart, he became a zookeeper at Chester Zoo. Four years later, he was working as a gardener and winning awards for cacti and dahlias. Next was a job with the Pru as an insurance salesman. Then, in 1975, he qualified as a school lab technician. Once, an RE teacher asked if he could turn water into wine. He could — albeit with concentrated colouring secreted in the bottle cap! My brother Andy and I remember holidays in the caravanette Dad created out of a Transit van. Dad taught wine-making, did an A-level in law and studied music theory. Aged 61, he got a job at McDonald’s in Ashton and was recognised with a brass plaque as the fast food chain’s oldest British employee. He was devoted to Mum, who died in 2006. We will never forget him pushing her mobility scooter up the hill at the Eden Project in Cornwall after the battery ran out. His eulogy was titled The Truly Amazing Life Of Brian — because it was, right until the final stop.
BRIAN HOLDEN, born January 24, 1929, died September 7, 2017, aged 88.