Colin Mcrae Celebration Service

[ROAR]

Well done guys.. as previously said you've done us all proud,

brings me up in goosebumps reading through......

[TYS]

Hi everyone,

My apologies if I shouldn't have registered(I don't own a Subaru although I am seriously thinking about trying to get hold of an Impreza).

The reason I registered was simply to say THANK YOU to every single one of you who have been involved in the tributes that have happened over the last two weeks,

Your gesture on the day after the tragedy,the laying of the flowers at the gates of Colin's house and the first drive past caught my attention,In the weeks after the loss of Colin I have found that I have looked at this site a great many times,

It has helped me realise that the way I was feeling was a form of grief,It has also helped looking at the site to realize that I am not alone in how I am feeling.

I have never had the pleasure of meeting Colin,however I have been a follower of his motorsport career since his early days in the Rothmans Legacy,very happy memories of standing freezing cold in Grizedale hearing him thunder through usually with a huge spray of dirt and gravel being thrown over us as he went round the corner LOL.

And then we come to Sunday.......................SUPERB!!!!

Each and every one of you should be so proud of what you did,I have seen the videos on Youtube,have looked at the photos and I'm stunned at what you pulled off at such tragically short notice ,

I was such a fitting tribute to such a Legend,and I have no doubts in my mind that Colin would have approved,

So once again my apologies if I shouldn't be posting if I don't own a Scooby,but I just had to say something.

Apologies also for the long post

Kindest regards

TYS (Barrow,Cumbria)

Edited October 3, 2007 by TYS

[gus the bus]

Hi everyone,

My apologies if I shouldn't have registered(I don't own a Subaru although I am seriously thinking about trying to get hold of an Impreza).

The reason I registered was simply to say THANK YOU to every single one of you who have been involved in the tributes that have happened over the last two weeks,

Your gesture on the day after the tragedy,the laying of the flowers at the gates of Colin's house and the first drive past caught my attention,In the weeks after the loss of Colin I have found that I have looked at this site a great many times,

It has helped me realise that the way I was feeling was a form of grief,It has also helped looking at the site to realize that I am not alone in how I am feeling.

I have never had the pleasure of meeting Colin,however I have been a follower of his motorsport career since his early days in the Rothmans Legacy,very happy memories of standing freezing cold in Grizedale hearing him thunder through usually with a huge spray of dirt and gravel being thrown over us as he went round the corner LOL.

And then we come to Sunday.......................SUPERB!!!!

Each and every one of you should be so proud of what you did,I have seen the videos on Youtube,have looked at the photos and I'm stunned at what you pulled off at such tragically short notice ,

I was such a fitting tribute to such a Legend,and I have no doubts in my mind that Colin would have approved,

So once again my apologies if I shouldn't be posting if I don't own a Scooby,but I just had to say something.

Apologies also for the long post

Kindest regards

TYS (Barrow,Cumbria)

Thanks for your kind words of support! .....and please feel free to visit us here any time. we are a friendly bunch

[st3ph3n]

We should have had the Glasgow meet style everyone introduces themselves on Sunday. Wouldn't have taken too long with 140ish cars with sort of 1.5 people per car!

[ally-b]

Just an idea , but would anyone who was there be able to compose an article with pics for True Grip ?

Al.

[andy]

Just an idea , but would anyone who was there be able to compose an article with pics for True Grip ?

Think you might meet mixed feelings here, mate.

In my humble opinion, whilst the service was a celebration of life, to me and I'm sure many others, it was as close as we were going to get to a funeral service and is therefore sacrosanct. We all have our own personal, individual and private feelings about the day. I, personally, think they should remain just that and not be a "magazine feature".

However, that is purely my view and I stand to be corrected if the community disagree.

[ally-b]

I agree 100% Andy .

But I thought that True Grip would probably be looking to have an tribute article remembering Colin McRae , and a report and pics of our clubs part in the Celebration of Life Service would be useful.

I apologise if my request was inappropriate , but it was not how I intended it to 'sound'.

Al.

[zeolite]

Andy..I understand your point. It was a moving experience and I will never forget it. However I do believe that there should be a mention of the event in True Grip. This was an occasion noted by every motorsport fan in the world. It was attended by the largest number of Subaru owners since the Richard Burns memorial. It is SIDC news.

There are provisos though. This was a tremendously sad event and should be reported as such. It did not have the usual happiness and life of a standard SIDC event. (Even the RB memorial was a happy event) the atmosphere was muted and it should not be reported as a "great day out". This was about respect and reverance for a man who was the driver we all aspired to be. I think the older folks probably felt this more than some of the younger guys and maybe that is the way it should be. personally I found the service both terribly sad and at the same time poignant and heartwarming.

I say, let someone do a report but make sure it reflects the correct tone of respect and reverance. There are many who wanted to be there and with a well written report they can be in some way.

[micra_wrc]

agree with Zeolite.

Was thinking that, if we were to do an article, the tone of the writing should reflect the sombre mood, the incredible sadness of losing Colin, Johnny, Ben and Graeme and the awful shock that reverberated throughout the rallying world.

I'll have a shot of writing something this weekend, I'll include our inpromptu but worldwide tribute the morning after the accident and also our attendance at the service held on Sunday.

Would like to use some quotes posted on several threads here, as I think it will capture our reaction to losing Colin.

[iainc]

Andy..I understand your point. It was a moving experience and I will never forget it. However I do believe that there should be a mention of the event in True Grip. This was an occasion noted by every motorsport fan in the world. It was attended by the largest number of Subaru owners since the Richard Burns memorial. It is SIDC news.

There are provisos though. This was a tremendously sad event and should be reported as such. It did not have the usual happiness and life of a standard SIDC event. (Even the RB memorial was a happy event) the atmosphere was muted and it should not be reported as a "great day out". This was about respect and reverance for a man who was the driver we all aspired to be. I think the older folks probably felt this more than some of the younger guys and maybe that is the way it should be. personally I found the service both terribly sad and at the same time poignant and heartwarming.

I say, let someone do a report but make sure it reflects the correct tone of respect and reverance. There are many who wanted to be there and with a well written report they can be in some way.

IMO I'd say a report for the mag was the right thing to do, but as stated above it needs to be done in the right way, maybe as a larger feature on Colins life and achievements, etc?

I would doubt whether it would be the kind of event that a someone in the club would have missed but it would be good to see some of the better pictures, etc put into the magazine as a "permenant" reminder of the celebration of his life.

[j10 dly]

I was so proud to be part of this, it is definately a day to tell the grand children about. A day I will NEVER forget.

Again I know it's been said but, a credit to all and especially to the guys that organised this and pulled it off.

Cheers

James

[thefastone]

Yeah, I think that I have to agree, there SHOULD be an article, and that it should reflect what it was, I dont think that anyone expected a happy article, but also it should reflect all the modds and emotions that were there in the day,

I also think that it should include somthing about the first run past, and our tribute on Sunday, as that was a bit thing, that I think can be too easily forgotten or overshadowed... 150 imprezas was a great tribute, but that was ONLY 150, there what? hundreds or thousands in the club? remember, there are a lot more people here that perhaps dont use the forums, or that couldn't make the service, and I think that for those people as much as for the people that were there, that want a lasting reminder of the day...

Oh and I would be VERY dissapointed if this article were not to make it into the next issue of True grip, I just recived my copy today, and to be honest, I was a little dissapointed at the small article that was in there about his death (nothing about the others in the accident either), where CADS got yet another 2 page spread (again)...

[StewartyBoy]

Police officer at the Lanark market " I'm not really into cars - but when I saw and heard you guys coming into the carpark , I felt the hairs stand up on the back of my neck "

Love that quote...

[micra_wrc]

thanks to Stewarty for giving me a copy of the pics he took.

spent a couple of hours last night writing an article for True Grip and it was very difficult to write.

here's a wee snippet...

When I was told that Colin had died my heart stopped.

When I was told that his 5 year old son was in the helicopter and died too, my heart wept.

When it became obvious that the other 2 occupants in the helicopter had lost their lives, I was numb.

Will submit it to the editors this week, along with the high res pictures i've got.

and there's been an update on Colin's website..

Wednesday 3rd October 2007

Acknowledgement

Alison, Hollie and the McRae Family would like to thank all of those who have supported them in the aftermath of the tragic accident on the 15th September.

Special thanks to the Emergency Services, Henry Dorricott Funeral Services, South Lanarkshire Council and Strathclyde Police, in particular the family liaison officers Fiona and Jackie.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to all who contributed and were involved in organising the Service of Thanksgiving and Celebration on Sunday.

The family have been especially appreciative of the comfort and support they have received from Reverends Alison Meikle, Tom Houston, Steven Reid and everyone within the Presbytery of Lanark.

The family have been overwhelmed by the incredible number of messages of Condolence which they have received and would like to say a special thank you to those who attended the Service both in St. Nicholas Church and the High Street in Lanark. Colin would have been so touched to think that all his friends and fans had given such support to his family.

Throughout this difficult time the Duncan, Porcelli and McRae families have gained strength and support from each other and will continue to do so in the months and years ahead.

[zeolite]

With the upcoming memorial run imminent I thought I would take a look at this old thread. It still puts a lump in my throat.

[Midnight21]

Not very good with words but glad this thread has been brought forward as it gives all us newbies a chance to see the great tribute that you all gave to Colin.

I wish i could have been a part of it but will be able to make up for it on this years memorial run,

You guys are great

[gus the bus]

It still puts a lump in my throat.

Iain, just read the last few posts again and the hairs on my neck are standing up too

[Dougie C]

I have to agree I just read the post again and gave me a lump in my throat.

I am sure you guys will have a great time down to Prodrive Enjoy

Dougie C

[Big Gordon]

I didn't have my Scooby at the time of the service but i was there and reading this thread has brought back all the emotions if that day.

I still can't watch my Colin McRae, Rally Legend dvd without a tear in my eye. I was lucky enough to meet him last year at the motorsports show in Lanark and had my pic taken with him, one of the proudest days of my life

Can't wait for the run to Prodrive, it'll be awesome.

[nanaki]

i never posted at the time beacuse i guess i really didn't know what to say and with time i really still don't.

that day was so emotional and will live on in our memories but the memories of colin will live even longer.

thanks for brining this back from the forum depths.

[bogie]

With the upcoming memorial run imminent I thought I would take a look at this old thread. It still puts a lump in my throat.

Yep, the other night I watched a bit of the tribute program I recorded last year and it is still brings a lump to my throat.

Still think of that day whenever I hear SnowPatrol - Chasing Cars and then there's Colin's Mk2 sitting at the start of the McRae stages last year, so sad.

[micra_wrc]

one year ago today Colin was taken away from us.

Hopefully the turnout for the McRae Gathering 2 weeks ago brought a smile to his face and showed that we will always be thinking of him.

RIP Colin, Johnny, Ben and Graeme

links to other threads in case some of you havent seen them..

emergency meet, day after the accident

Thoughts and Memories

[Big Gordon]

Can't believe it's been a year already. Still have days when i still can't comprehend that it actually happened.

My thoughts and prayers with his family and friends today and always.

[jcscoob]

Well done Imy, i was searching for this thread last night but couldnt find it.

[t3hWIT]

Thank you for posting that Imy, one of those threads was the reason behind my registration on this forum.