22 June 2022
Saying goodbye to a friend. Gill Nelson writes, Wayne joined Bridgend FAN on 1st April 2019 wearing one of his many cravats and a sceptical expression!
Wayne was a larger than life character and soon became the biggest presence in our group. He was a good man, gentle, understanding and funny with kindness underneath it all. One of our group told of how he always made time for him when he felt down and that brought him real joy.
These are all reflections made by members of our group…..Wayne would usually open by saying that he hadn’t done anything much that week and had nothing to say about the weekly topic and then somehow said something that had us all laughing. He was a bit of an enigma and surprised and pleased that he was so popular with us all. The last time we saw him was at our FAN Christmas party and a few months later heard that he had died.
Our FAN group is not the same without Wayne and as we wanted to say our goodbyes to him, we all decided to take the bus to Maesteg his home town. Bob, who introduced Wayne to our group and who lives in Maesteg too, met us and showed us the bench where Wayne liked to sit and talk to people. Sue brought some flowers and a man from a nearby building site climbed down the scaffolding, unasked, to take the picture you can see. We went to a nearby café and toasted Wayne in tea and coffee.
RIP Wayne. We miss you
Peace be thine our dear friend