A lovely man

Sir,

How sad I was to discover that the funeral procession I saw some days ago was that of Henry McNicol. He will forever be etched in my memory for a number of reasons, not least that he was a kenspeckle figure of good humour and a wry wit who always had the solution to our plumbing problems.

I remember him as a popular captain of Brodick Golf Club – back in my much younger days – at a time when if Bess McMillan and her concert group were appearing in the Brodick clubhouse lounge you were lucky to get a seat

In 1980 I was doing a live interview with Glen Michael on West Sound Radio one Sunday morning; that morning I had received a call to tell me there was a burst pipe in our house; Glen closed the interview by asking if I had anything planned for the day. I replied I was heading for Brodick because of a burst pipe in the house and if Henry McNicol was listening maybe he could go along and try and fix it.

I arrived off the 12.30pm ferry to discover the flood had been stopped. My neighbour Alleyn Dinwoodie said Henry had appeared and taken care of it! I phoned Henry to offer him my heartfelt thanks. He said – ‘don`t mention it’ – he`d been getting phone calls all morning from people who`d heard the broadcast, telling him all about it. Unbelievable!

For some years I put on summer shows in Brodick village hall. On one occasion I was flattered to notice Henry in the audience. The following night I met him in the Brodick Bistro and as I passed his table he gave me the thumbs up and said he`d fairly enjoyed the show. I said I was thinking of doing it in the new school hall in Lamlash next year instead of Brodick, and asked would he be likely to support it. He paused for a moment and with the famous McNicol grin said: ‘No – too far!’

Ah well it just goes to show. What a great character, and a lovely man. Here`s to you , Henry!

Yours,

Peter Morrison, Brodick