Great send off for Laurie
2002
Lyn recalls “Laurie Williams died in 2002 or 2003, after I had moved back to Cardiff. His funeral was amazing; it was a humanist funeral, it was packed solid with several hundred people; anyone who was anyone that was involved in the pubs and clubs of Birmingham was there. There were lots of anecdotes about him at the funeral, most of them about him being very waspish. He was a generous man and at the same time quite penny pinching. I have never laughed so much at a funeral before – it was a great send off. When we went from his house to go to the crematorium there were about 200 people on his estate lining the road. He died penniless and the pub and club owners led by Bill Gavan paid for his funeral. After he died I went to his home and he had a keen interest in 1950s design. The Jug was famous for its water grotto and sculptures made out of the bottom of gin bottles. His back garden at home was a series of sculptures made out of concrete and glass – Gaudi style.”
Contributed by: Lyn David Thomas, 47