Its with deep sadness that I am writing about the passing of my friend Brian Alcock the last full time self employed grinder in Sheffield. I had so much admiration for this man and treasured every moment I spent in his company. In many ways he was very simple, he worked unbelievably hard still starting work at 6am and doing a 5 day week aged 82 right up to 3 weeks ago. They really don’t make em like that any more. I don’t think I ever knew anyone who was so universally loved though. His workshop was a happy place with an open door policy, people would wander in and chat and offload their worries and he’d always make time for them. Whatever was going on in your life a few minutes in Brian’s workshop seemed somehow to make the world a better place. As I try to come to terms with the loss I’m finding more than ever that I need to follow Brian’s example, working with your hands is good for your mental health, when things are tough then just doing something that keeps your mind occupied seems to help.
Here’s Brian photographed a couple of years ago by my fiend Giles Bennett, we had some great laughs.
