So, another backdated blog entry, this time to honour Tim, Timmy, TjT, son o' Fred, grandson o' Ted... I've known Tim since Uni days, and he's always been, in my mind at least, a bit of a constant force. I don't mean that in a "check out that stagnating, boring, not changing dude" way - it's more a "Tim, with his frills and faults, is a comfort, a known entity and a part of my life" kinda way. Tim is a man who has suffered shitty times in his life, but likewise, I think he's had a pretty good run at other times. And he's fortunate to have the spark inside that a lot of us mere mortals search a long time to find. In Tim's case, it's his writing. I feel a little bad when I think of Tim's writing, as I feel I could've been more supportive through the years, particularly in telling him just how magnificent he is in just doing it, let alone doing it well. For that I'll always be inspired and impressed with him. One of the great unknowns to me about Tim is his ability to part ways with CDs. I've never got that. The guy LOVES music, and I reckon in his time has owned probably over 5,000 CDs... but if you went round to his place today, there'd be a fraction of that. Tim is the second hand CD sellers dream (and I suppose that could be why he's worked in at least 2 second hand CD stores...). Tim's taste in music is pretty good (even though he's yet to discover the joys of guitar wankery and progressive death metal... or much metal at all actually), and I do enjoy a solid music chat with him. By far and away though, Tim's greatest gift is his humour. There are few more humourous than Tim (a wicked sense of humour), and his laugh, when he's really going (not the "that's kinda funny" laugh), sums it all up. It's a little wheezy, very unique and a little bit crazy. And that's I think why we all like Tim so much. That and the fact that he's come up with some piss-funny nicknames for all our friends (I'm thinking one Puddleduck in particular) in the past 10 years.

So, here's to you Timmy - Happy Birthday, and I'll see you for dinner on Sunday night!