My Good Friend Charlie Kyle

[mercuryg]

Didn't know whether to post this on here, or in the chat central, or at all, but decided to in the end. Many of you probably know that Charlie Kyle - AKA Charlie the Parky and a local character of the highest order - died earlier this week after being ill for some time. That he died in his regular spot in Breakers Bar was fitting indeed. Charlie was a great friend to me, a good man and one with a sense of humour. For any who do not already know but may be interested, his funeral is at Blyth Crematorium, 2.30 next Friday. I, for one, will miss him a great deal.

[moe19]

I first meet  and became friends with Charlie in the early seventies  when I worked in Morpeth,  he was  a well known and well liked lad who enjoyed a drink but never caused any trouble or had a bad word to say about anyone. He had a brother called Geoffrey (Geoff) but Geoff and Charlie were like chalk and cheese, total opposites, Geoff died very young  I think he would be in his thirties, he contracted some tropical parasitic disease while i think he was working in Africa .       

Charlie’s  favourite drinking dens in those days would have been the old Grey Bull , the Earl Grey, the George and Dragon and the Queens Head, (all long gone) , I can well remember one particulate night  after a lock in at the George and Dragon Charlie rather worse for wear after a good day on the hoy left the Dragon to go home in the early hours and on exiting the front door of the Dragon turned a full circle and walked through the large plate glass window of the Abbey National Building Society , he ended up sitting among  the window display covered in glass but did not have a mark on him, we still had Bobbies on the beat then and it was not to long until an amused looking  copper arrived to de-tangle Charlie from the window display.

I did not know Charlie had passed away until I read it here today ,

He will be missed by those that  knew him (and by the pubs he drank in ).

God bless Charlie mate, and rest in peace.            

Edited September 23, 2017 by moe19

[mercuryg]

Hi Moe, great story - typical! I posted here as I know not everyone would have had access to the Facebook pages it was announced on. Charlie was diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas some months ago, and knew - as many of use did - that the end wasn't far away. As I mentioned, he passed away in his spot at the bar, with friends around him. Lovely bloke.