It is with a heavy heart that I must inform all our friends in the VSOC that Grum (Graeme Hobbs formally Centre 8 now Centre 4 rep) has died. He died peacefully on New Years morning in his sleep.

Grum , as you all know him had been Ill for some time but wanted to continue with his biking pursuits for as long as possible and with as little fuss as possible. For this reason only those closest were informed of his illness initially.

Grum was the bravest person I have ever met, we laughed about everything, even in our darkest moments we shared laughter. No one who met Grum could fail to forget him, he was a character as they say. He was a complex, warm loving man who despite anything I told him to the contrary, firmly believed he had rhythm on the dance floor, he lived life as he danced…. to his own tune.

His wish was to have a Humanist funeral in the Midlands and this is what we will strive to achieve.

Grum was capable of great love and those who knew him well loved him unconditionally. I have lost my better half, I loved Graeme with all my heart and was privileged to care for him in his final months. Biking was his life and the VSOC his joy.

Thank you to all the visitors we had over Christmas, you made his last Christmas perfect. I will make sure that everyone is informed about his funeral arrangements and hope we make him proud with his send off. I know I speak for Grum and myself when I say thanks to all of you who make life fun and let's continue to keep life crazy.

Allison