4/5/2023

It was a sad day indeed when fellow Scrumpies said farewell to a long term Scrumpy member ...Steve Manders aka Postie, on 4th May 2023 in Corsham.

Why was he called Postie?

Well, he turned up one day with some homemade panniers on his bike and everyone thought he was delivering mail.

From then on he travelled with a toy black and white cat called Jesse and the name stuck.

The family requested a bike escort which we duly obliged. After all who would miss the opportunity to ride their bike and have the privilege of escorting Postie on his final journey.

Rather than turn up at Posties in dribs and drabs we all met up at a service station 8 miles from Posties home.

This gave us an opportunity to have a pit stop and get organised, putting on white shirts, filling up with petrol, putting ribbons on vehicles , a toilet break and of course a hug and chat.

We had a selection of bikes, trikes and cars with a total of 17 members attending.

Magic led the way to Posties and after a wrong turn down a narrow side street and us all doing a u-turn we made it to Posties home.

Fair play to Magic, he had not been to Postie's for a while as he now lives in France... so he did well.

A quick chat with family and the undertakers and then we were off taking Postie to the Crem.

We had 5 family cars joining us in the procession and with Bunch (Graeme Burton) leading the way we prepared to marshal a safe journey for all.

Both the undertakers and family were buzzing when we arrived at the Crem from the journey, saying it had been thrilling and memorable and how special they had felt during the escort and how Postie would have been thrilled.

The service was emotional yet inspiring as we learned of Postie's achievements and life. What a wonderful man indeed.

The wake was held at Trowbridge Rugby Club and was again another opportunity to talk about Postie, talk to family and reflect on life.

Blacky did a thought provoking speech on his memories of Postie which finished with a toast to Postie.

Family were fascinated with our biking family , the Club and exploits and were very grateful for our participation in the day.

Finally, it was time to leave and we all rode our separate ways as the heavens opened.

A very soggy finish to a truly memorable day.

God Rest Postie.

Dawn Jones