Jim's Memorial Cricket Match

Cricket match this Friday at 5.30 - 6.00 start - Harborne Cricket Club (http://www.harborne-cc.co.uk/)

Was a great match - the laywers won (too many ringers!) but not by too much. There is always next year!

Jim's inquest

Jim's inquest finalised today. Verdict: natural causes with precise cause indeterminable. Pathologist has only had 6 of these in 4,500 PMs. Suppose we will never really know now. Hard to take.

Jim's Memorial Celebration - 6 May

Macdonald Burlington Hotel
Burlington Arcade
126 New Street
Birmingham
B2 4LJ

Charity Ball in memory of James Viney
(held in conjunction with the BTSS)

Saturday, 6 May 2006 - 7.30pm
Black tie - Dinner Dance with Drinks reception
Carriages at 1.30am

To reserve your ticket(s), please contact either:
Richard Viney: richviney@hotmail.com
or Emma Hopkinson (BTSS): Emma.Hopkinson@dlapiper.com

Ticket price: £40 per person

Menu:

Petit Salad of Salmon
Set on Green Beans & New Potatoes
With a Rustic Tomatoe Dressing
~
Roast Shoulder of Lamb with Herb Stuffing & Minted Gravy
Fresh Vegetables and Potatoes
~
Chocolate Coupe with Orange Cream
~
Coffee and Mints

Events will include a raffle / charity auction in aid of:
The Birmingham Children's Hospital (Education fund)

James was a wonderful and loving uncle to his nephews and neices and would have been very happy to see the surplus from this event making a real difference to the lives of sick and distressed children in his beloved home city of Birmingham.

We do hope you will join us for what is sure to be a fantastic laugh.

For parties of eight, we are likely to be able to accomodate you all on your own table. For smaller parties, we will endeavour to keep people together or near to each other in the table plan. Don't delay - get your tickets today!

Let's get on with the show!

I had the pleasure of playing opposite Jim as Annie Oakley in Solihull School's production of Annie Get Your Gun. Obviously we got to know each other fairly well as we spent most lunch times and evenings after school, plus a few unscheduled outings to random subtle smoking venues to rehearse our demanding roles.

Rehearsals were always an absolute pleasure and a total riot and at times we completely forgot the point of why we were there and the seriousness of how we were supposed to be representing the school. The most daunting part of the whole production for me was the fact that not only was Jim to be the first person I'd kissed in front of my parents, (!!) but he also stood a foot taller than me. (I'm still seeing the chiropractor now..!)

This posed certain problems when we were instructed to look passioately into one another's eyes... The very first time we rehearsed the dreaded kiss scene was a lunch time which coincided with a V.I.P. visit from a typically overbearing suit from OxBridge, who was unwittingly ushered into Big School for a taste of real drama.

To add a bit of authenticity, Jim decided at no notice whatsoever that he was going to commit the actor's most unforgivable act of using his tongue during the kiss, in order to spice things up a bit... My shocked and automatic reaction being to slap him around the face as hard as I could! Mr. Snooty fron OxBridge obviously didn't know his Irving Berlin, as he burst into riotous applause thinking what fantastic actors we were and that the slap was all part of the plot.

Jim and I spent the next 20 minutes laughing and unfortunately we had to pack up for the day. Jim threatened to repeat the Ad Lib during the final performance on the friday night, but thankfully we'd all drank too much wine when it came down to it on the night and he must have forgotten. I just want to say that Jim was one of the very few true gentlemen in this world and I'm honoured to have been given the chance to see him shine in many ways.

God bless you Jim. This one's for you .... X Sophie Bakewell

Posted on behalf of Sophie Bakewell

Hit for Six

Where do I start? I remember Jim bowling at me at speed (probably after watching one the Ashes) as a 7 year old in the back garden of Hintlesham Ave. Facing the pace and speed of a six foot odd (and more) 14 year old, to put it bluntly... I suddenly 'soiled my underwear!'

But my endearing memory of my cousin and that which summed him up was a chat we had on the No22 bus just before his premature death. I was on my way to an interview, rather scared, but straight away he tried to reassure me. His precise words were 'don't worry chief, be yourself and you'll hit them for six.' Well I am sure if the bat was in his hands, that would have been the case. Such was the man. A pal I admired, looked up to and above all will greatly miss. Pete

Posted on behalf of Peter Brookes

A 2:1 in talking rubbish, drinking and smoking!

I have been trying to write this for over a month now and still can't find the words. Here is my best attempt to describe my friend Jim and how much I will miss him...

We met at university in Exeter where we struck up an instant friendship. Jim was possibly the most intelligent man I knew. I don't know anybody else who was capable of achieving a 2:1 in a politics course having never attended a single lecture! I can vouch for that because I spent many of those lectures with my 'Bad Habits Professor' Jim talking rubbish, drinking and smoking.

Occasionally we went to lectures together, despite the fact that we were on completely different courses! One time, we were preparing ourselves for a Black tie ball when I was supposed to be at a Psychology lecture on Freud. I happened to mention how amusing some of the theories were and 1/2 hr later we were sitting in the lecture together, half cut and dressed in our dinner suits!!

Happy times. Jim and I also had a great pool rivalry and we often spent lectures in the Queen Vic together battling it out over a pint. We were very evenly matched and the pendulum would swing on a regular basis as each of us found form. When we teamed up as a doubles partnership, as we sometimes did, it was always worth sharking our opponents with a little wager which we invariably won!

Unsuprisingly most of my fondest memories of Jim involve our drinking exploits together. I was also priviledged to travel around New Zealand with him and see him catch his first fish. That trip also happens to be the only time I have ever managed to sleep through an entire 24 hr period. Needless to say this was induced by Jim's insatiable appetite for partying! Prior to our trip to NZ Jim also visited me in Australia where I was living at the time. He slept in the lounge and I have a fond memory of Jim's tale the next morning of how a burglar had attempted to enter the house via the patio doors only to be greeted by a huge Englishman 'looming' over him. Needless to say he scarpered as quickly as possible!

Those who know Jim know that he was never short of a tale to make you smile. Despite hearing some of them multiple times I never tired of them. Jim was proof that it really is the way you tell em' So Jim, I will miss you. I will miss my pool companion, and I will miss my drinking companion but most of all I will miss my friend. Bolt on fresher...

Posted on behalf of Richard Hunt

Missing my friend

I have been trying to write this in my head for 3 weeks now and I still can't seem to find the words or story that will do Jim justice. To be honest, I don't think I ever will. He was and still is one of my best mates, nothing will change that.

We met at the N.Y.T when we were 18, along with Paul. Straight away we struck up a friendship and bond that will never be broken. In 12 years we never had a crossed word or a sober night. I have so many great memories, we have been on holiday to Turkey, Amsterdam, Miami, Ibiza and even Butlins along with too many black tie events to mention and in that time I have seen Jim in Toga, womans clothes, naked, do some strange dance moves, shark like a demon, drink like a fish and moan about some some of the most random things imaginable!

I think of the state he used to live in and could never place the man of such knowledge and humour he was with his desire to live in a place straight out of Trainspotting! His unique fashion sense is stuff of legend. I will never know how a man who bought non ironing shirts still needed me to iron his shirts before we went out?

I have a hundred and more stories that make me smile and laugh. I think everyone has summed him up so well on here. I try not to be angry and feel cheated, because he was such a great guy it seems wrong to associate any negativity with him.

I bought Jim a badge once that he loved, it went "I'm not tall, your just short". His back pains, his massage chair, his smoking 24/7, the fear I'd have when he'd mutter "I've got a bit of a thirst on". It doesn't seem real and I know I will never stop thinking of one of my best mates. I promise to spread the gospel according to Jim, be it through trying to be the type of person he was or telling the many tales I have.

The world has definitely become an emptier place for me.

I could go on and maybe I will at a later date. I should add that making the reception on Friday made me smile for one reason. Everyone in the place was chatting about different stories they had and all involved drink and a smile!By the way, the last wine Jim was into was a red thing called Trio. I may just buy some shares in the company as I intend to honour my great mate the only way possible and keep on toasting the one and only Jim.

Posted on behalf of Rhys Jones

Prodigious Talents

Dear David - As a good friend of his elder brother Rich, I was lucky enough to have spent several long evenings with Jim over the past few years.

Whilst my head, kidneys and wallet always seemed to regret it the morning after, there were very few moments when he wasn't telling us all some outrageous story of what he'd recently been up to, giving first-hand advice (and demonstrations) on how best to imbibe some near-toxic (and often flaming) shot of alcohol, or simply making us laugh. Most often, it was all three at once.

Attending a funeral is never a happy event, but I was lucky enough - if you see what I mean - to have been there on Friday, and to hear the various tributes from his friends and family. Yours, in particular, rang especially true and I just wanted to echo that in addition to his role as the 'life and soul', he was always genuinely interested to hear what everyone else had been up to - and with a rare ability to remember nearly all of what we'd told him last time we'd met :
something all the more impressive given the state in which we usually ended up.

I last bumped into Jim in the 'liquid' department of our local supermarket - he was probably 'food shopping' - but my clearest memory is of last New Year's Eve, in 2005, when he joined us for a meal at 'Etc' in Harborne. As you will see from the attached photograph, he dressed for the occasion, in his finest crumpled rugby shirt, and excused his late arrival (at about 8pm) on the basis that he 'had only just got up'. Admittedly, he was feeling a bit under the weather, but no-one batted an eyelid when they heard that. Despite his touch of 'flu, he proceeded to do what he did best - drink, lead several bouts of supreme idiocy, and ensure that we all had to rely on photographic evidence the next day to convince ourselves that we were actually there.

We'll all miss him.

Matt Shaw

Posted on behalf of Matt Shaw

BTSS Summer Ball 2005

David

I was so shocked to hear the sad news about James passing away, may I offer my sincere condolences.

I was fortunate enough to meet James through his work on the BTSS committee and over the past year our paths crossed on a number of occasions and he was always very welcoming and friendly.

I have a couple pictures of James from the BCASS summer ball which I thought you might appreciate.

Kind regards
Craig Edmondson

Reflections - Eulogy for Jim

REFLECTIONS
A speech at Jim’s Thanksgiving Service
24 March 2006

When Jim gave his best man’s address at my wedding, he started by saying that a good speech should be like a woman’s dress; long enough to cover the subject but short enough to remain interesting. I will endeavor to follow his lead.

Today is our chance to say thank you for a very special person in all our lives, whom God granted but half a life. We will all feel angry and cheated that Jim was taken from us so young, yet we must learn to give thanks that he came along at all. Only now that he is gone, and I look around me, do I truly understand what we have lost and how difficult it will be without him.

James was a man who touched many people. He threw himself wholeheartedly into life and moved in many circles. His passion and energy were visible in his work, his professional life, his dramatic performances, his sporting endeavours and of course his prodigious drinking talents.

We have truly been robbed of a man in his prime, coming to terms with himself, his affairs and his place in the world. He was, I know, very happy at Stuart Hodge – a wonderful team with a family atmosphere. He was active in the Birmingham Trainee Solicitors Society as “Philosophus”; buttering cultural muffins from Walsall to Warsaw. And at the Crescent Theatre in Brindley Place, where he was a regular, who can forget the site of Jim stripping off in “a Girl’s Night Out”? Well I, for one, am trying, believe me!

James’ school friends may remember that his first lead in Shakespeare was as Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew. In many ways, Jim was Petruchio; a man of sport and good humour, who liked to surround himself with witty, challenging people for a drink or a fiery argument. Kind hearted and generous, he was a true friend to many. Over the last few weeks, I have been astonished at how many people have said to me that Jim’s advice (drunken or otherwise) played a major part in pivotal decisions in their life or picked them up when they were at their lowest ebb.

Of course, Petruchio was also stubborn, disorganised and unpredictable – just like Jim. Many of you will have wondered how James died. Well, it seems that he was in the process of tidying his flat at the time and my theory is that the shock of this simply finished him off. Perhaps we will never know. It is one of the greatest tragedies that Jim, unlike Petruchio, never did get to meet his Katherine. A woman strong enough to stand up to him and smooth off his rough edges. What a sister-in-law she would have been. And who would have been taming who?

Jim was a big man, not just in height but in heart and character. One of life’s true gentlemen. From the moment he entered the room, slapped you on the back and cheerily greeted you with a “hello chief” he was at the very centre of all that was fun and mischief. And yet Jim achieved in that something which few master. For he was always much more interested in others than in himself. He had a way of being and of listening that would make you feel the most important person in the room. This was his most special quality and that which will be most sorely missed.

In many ways, Jim shared the finest qualities of my mother, who’s long illness and death James witnessed and bore with such fortitude, just as she did. He inherited her sense of fun, her mischief and her willingness to listen and empathise with others.

To me, James was always my younger brother. One of my earliest – and happiest – memories was holding him in my arms as a baby – and what a cute baby he was. I have always wanted to protect him and foster him; have him learn from my mistakes and to share in his triumphs. Richard and I have watched him grow up and seek out his own path with pleasure and with pride.

To my father and grandfather, he was the prodigal son. Always a worry but always welcomed and loved. The fatted calf was always ready on Sunday lunchtime, whether or not Jim was always there to eat it. But above all else, he will be remembered by the family not as a son or a brother, but as Uncle Jimmy. It was with his nephew and nieces that Jim was at his kind and generous best. They will miss his love and guidance more than anyone.

In many ways, Jim’s life was really only just beginning. At times, I simply refuse to believe he is gone. He seems to be only in the next room, ready to enter at any moment with a song, a soliloquy or a story. I can hear his voice in my head and feel his massive hand shaking mine.

As Jim boards that Big Green Drunken Bus to the sky, I’d like to ask you to join us after this service for a drink. Let this first drink be one of many in his memory. Lay out an extra place at your table and in your heart for my brother and our dear friend, James Viney. Pour him a pint and let his presence fill the room once more. As long as you remember him, all that he was will live on in you.

Jim, as I have said, was my best man. And so he will remain, the very best of men.