Uncle Jimmy

Last night my dad called to tell me that his brother James had passed away. His health had been failing for some time so in the end the phone call was not really a surprise, but still sad to get it.

James was known to me as Uncle Jimmy. Many people referred to him as Barber James. He had a small Barber shop in my home village of Inverallochy for a number of years before he moved to Edinburgh. I actually don't remember him living in North East Scotland but decades later the nick name of Barber James still stuck. That's village life!

But having an uncle living in Edinburgh as I was growing up was a treat as we often would go and stay with him and his wife Margaret in Willowbrae Road. There were many highlights to these holidays. Crazy putting at Portobello, getting drenched in the rain at Edinburgh military tattoo but the highlight was always visiting Luca's Ice Cream Shop in Mussleburgh. (It has got to be the best in the country).

Then for some reason completely missed by me, we would set off ice cream in hand and drive round a local camp site with the grown ups making comments on where people were from judging by the number plates on there car. To this day I'm not sure why but I had my ice cream.

But more than anything I knew that Uncle Jimmy loved Jesus. On our visits we would always attend the services at the Musselburgh AOG Church where he served faithfully for many many years. His son Steve took over the pastorate for many years and his grand children love Jesus. Not a bad legacy!

Somehow I have a feeling that he heard the words from our saviours yesterday - Well done Uncle Jimmy you were a good and faithful servant.