The cortège will leave Clifton Park and depart for the crematorium at 12:40. The route will take us over Clifton Bridge, Holgate Bridge, turning right onto Dalton Terrace, along Knavesmire road and onto Bishopthorpe road to the Crematorium. Please feel free to park up anywhere along the route and honk as Don passes by.

Please don’t feel you need to be present at the Crematorium, there was a funeral recently presided by our funeral director where 30 people attended, and 26 of them subsequently caught Covid-19. Also, please remember the current Government guidelines regarding social distancing and only travelling for essential purposes!

The funeral (subtitled “Life was just a bowl of butties”) will be at 1pm and there is a YouTube link that will be live at that time (see below), please don’t try it before as it won’t be live. If for any reason you can’t get it, there will be a video uploaded as we are fully aware that a great deal of people wish to be present.

Please do not turn up or get out of your car at the Crematorium as it is a closed service and the authorities are very concerned about the level of numbers just showing up. Don was a great friend to many but under the circumstances the best way to pay your respects is to keep your distance and watch the service on video or stay at home (please). Don asked us to tell you personally that “you’re not like all the others”

https://youtu.be/Wf1y5SlE8Ko

There will be beers to be had once the pandemic is over and we can gather at the Rugby Club once more. Ideally summer, but as things look, a large gathering might still be dangerous even for his birthday in July. We are looking at suitable dates further ahead and will keep you posted (Boris permitting).

Don wasn’t a charity sort of man, but a number of friends have requested the ability to make a donation as a mark of respect. The staff, the nurses, and the doctors of Ward 29 have, and are continuing to look after an alarming number of our friends and family, they were spectacularly lovely with both Alan and Myself when we called. I propose that if we wish to donate something, then we raise a sum to get them all a present as a show of thanks. We can’t buy something for the whole NHS, but a little gift from us all to Ward 29 might just raise their spirits and help them to keep doing their tremendous jobs.

The Just Giving link is:
Just Giving Link

If you have messaged James or Alan recently and not had a reply, don’t fret, the backlog is quite immense with the huge amount of people paying their respects, can I guide you to the book of condolence should you wish to contribute any words of your own, we have read the messages so far and they are deeply touching. Link below:

Don Butler - Condolence Book link

Kindest regards to you all,

James & Alan.