The UAFC

Baggy I hope I.m not the unforgivable

Sorry to hear Snipe had the big C

A man totally different to myself -- in that he didn't share the fact -- a shame in some ways

By sharing you warn others -- you benefit from their good wishes -- and their experiences ( but remember no two experiences will be exactly the same

and you unload a some of the sh-t

Snipe being a Christian gent I 'm sure found a friend to share his load but -- the response -- is a promise -- a future comfort -- but the worry is now not then.

Yes Rum'n he was totally different to you. That doesn't mean that in how one copes in circumstances like this, one is right and one is wrong.

Dave's cancer was an extremely rare type and where it was located made it very difficult to operate on. It also made several operations necessary in order to facilitate later treatment. Radiotherapy and proton beam therapy don't work well through titanium.

Your cancer is one of the most common cancers about which a lot is known, and yes, you talking about it on here possibly does help others. Dave talking about his is most unlikely to help others, as it's unlikely anyone else on this forum will face the same cancer he had - statistically, that is. Even if they did, they would still face the same battle that he faced, albeit no 2 cancers are exactly the same..

Like I say, there's no right and no wrong way to face these things. You do what you think best at the time in your own particular circumstances. Dave made his choice and stuck with it. I trust you will believe me when I say Dave shared with those that were important to him, those whose opinions mattered. I hope I was one of those he was able to "unload some of the sh-t" to, as you put it, although I don't recall him doing so as such. I hope I was there for him to talk to, albeit not always literally. Texts and Whatsapp, can serve useful purposes despite what some say about them - particularly Whatsapp.

Also, your perception of where and when the worry is, differ from Dave's. That is your choice, just as it was Dave's. He believed he had a Friend to share his load, and a promise not only in the future, but also during his time on this mortal coil.

I sincerely wish you well in your battle, and in how you cope with that.

Cap'n Grumpy wrote: ↑Tue Mar 15, 2022 7:03 pm ...

Capt I hope you realise the comfort you were to him during those dark days as I said it is a lonely road we walk hoping we have the strength to reach the End even the Lord himself needed help to carry his Cross.

I haven't been around or checked in here for quite a while. This news deeply upset me. My own health took a bad turn a few years back and Snipe took plenty of time to text me or PM me to see how I was keeping.

I will not try to say I knew him as well as many here, but I feel able to say with pride he was a good friend though the great game - I now have only precious memories of time spent at half time at Ravers yarning, laughing and sorting out the troubles of the world, along with hopes for our kids. My heart really goes out to his family.

The last text Snipe sent to me explained he was himself going through a vicious illness - but he finished his words with this, which sums up our Ulster aspirations as we got older ...


" I also miss Friday nights. We always had a good laugh good times. If I get back to Ravers it'll be in a seat, I couldn't stand any more... I do think us two and Ken should get three seats together and hold court as the Ravers curmudgeons in residence "

Ravers Curmudgeons - just brilliant Dave mate, as always.

Great words mate. Hope you're doing well.

Cornerfleg wrote: ↑Mon Mar 21, 2022 3:18 pm I haven't been around or checked in here for quite a while. This news deeply upset me. My own health took a bad turn a few years back and Snipe took plenty of time to text me or PM me to see how I was keeping.

I will not try to say I knew him as well as many here, but I feel able to say with pride he was a good friend though the great game - I now have only precious memories of time spent at half time at Ravers yarning, laughing and sorting out the troubles of the world, along with hopes for our kids. My heart really goes out to his family.

The last text Snipe sent to me explained he was himself going through a vicious illness - but he finished his words with this, which sums up our Ulster aspirations as we got older ...


" I also miss Friday nights. We always had a good laugh good times. If I get back to Ravers it'll be in a seat, I couldn't stand any more... I do think us two and Ken should get three seats together and hold court as the Ravers curmudgeons in residence "

Ravers Curmudgeons - just brilliant Dave mate, as always.

Boutye Curmudgeon!

Good to see/hear from you again. I hope you are doing better than when we last spoke.

Dave did indeed ask me my thoughts on watching from among the prawn sarnie brigade rather than our usual space on the terrace. I'm not sure if he ever expected to make it to Ravers again, but he needed to set a target of at least trying. I of course agreed if he could make it, we would get seats together. I honestly never believed he would make it, but understood why he asked.

For the record, I think it would have been great to have had the Ravers Curmudgeons sitting together for a match or three - heaven help those sitting nearby though. They'll never know it, and we'll never know who they may have been, but they've had a lucky escape.

Waldorf, Statler and Astoria.

I recently was aware of changes in my waterworks, so asked the GP for a lookie at my enlarged prostate gland, an ultrasound scan was taken and a lump was found on my left kidney. A rapid recall to have a CT scan followed and a tumour the size of a golf ball was confirmed, I am due to have the tumour removed this coming Monday, they hope to save the most part of the kidney. This will be a total of two weeks from finding the lump to diagnosis and operation to remove it, have to say the Tayside NHS service has been superb, trouble is I'm due to be in hospital around five days, not sure if I will survive the food they allegedly dish up, mind the wife says I could do with losing a stone or two in weight lol.

tigerburnie wrote: ↑Fri Mar 25, 2022 1:23 pm I recently was aware of changes in my waterworks, so asked the GP for a lookie at my enlarged prostate gland, an ultrasound scan was taken and a lump was found on my left kidney. A rapid recall to have a CT scan followed and a tumour the size of a golf ball was confirmed, I am due to have the tumour removed this coming Monday, they hope to save the most part of the kidney. This will be a total of two weeks from finding the lump to diagnosis and operation to remove it, have to say the Tayside NHS service has been superb, trouble is I'm due to be in hospital around five days, not sure if I will survive the food they allegedly dish up, mind the wife says I could do with losing a stone or two in weight lol.

Good luck with that TB.

Carrying around a spare kidney seems wasted effort to me. So while they will, I'm sure do their best, it's probably not something to be too concerned about.

BR wrote: ↑Fri Mar 25, 2022 7:17 pm

tigerburnie wrote: ↑Fri Mar 25, 2022 1:23 pm I recently was aware of changes in my waterworks, so asked the GP for a lookie at my enlarged prostate gland, an ultrasound scan was taken and a lump was found on my left kidney. A rapid recall to have a CT scan followed and a tumour the size of a golf ball was confirmed, I am due to have the tumour removed this coming Monday, they hope to save the most part of the kidney. This will be a total of two weeks from finding the lump to diagnosis and operation to remove it, have to say the Tayside NHS service has been superb, trouble is I'm due to be in hospital around five days, not sure if I will survive the food they allegedly dish up, mind the wife says I could do with losing a stone or two in weight lol.

Good luck with that TB.

Carrying around a spare kidney seems wasted effort to me. So while they will, I'm sure do their best, it's probably not something to be too concerned about.

Thanks for that, due to the apparent lack of any spread of the cancer, they decided to go for leaving the kidney.

I hope Snipe won’t mind me quoting from some messages late last year. They make me smile each time I read them. He was usually standing behind us at most games and we would often briefly banter about something.

18.11.2021 “ Mike, I’ve been thinking about you recently and I owe you an apology. Last time I saw you at Ravenhill I grabbed your flag and bent the pole because you were waving it in front of me. I had no right whatsoever to do that and I have no reasonable excuse. I was out of order and hope you can accept my apology in the spirit it is offered. Cheers D”.

I replied on 19.11.2021 “ luckily I have no recollection of the incident (I know who I blame) so don’t you worry yer little cotton socks mate!”

Snipe replied on 19.11.2021 “ Well you were airlocked at the time which may have been a contributory factor in my frustration, but I was still out of order and an apology was needed. You may be as mad as a bag of cats, but you are an affable chap and didn’t deserve what I did. I don’t like bad manners, especially when it comes from me. Obviously it is all Brennans’s fault”.

Hopefully that brings a smile to some of you. I have had a good few broken and bent fleg poles over the years and loadsa lost flegs ( usually alcohol related) and it’s nice to know that one of them involved Snipe.

May the op be successful Tyger

Somethings require urgency some don't -- the Prostate is relative benign organ ( after a certain age the function it performs is nice to have but less essential ) -- Kidneys are essential .

rumncoke wrote: ↑Sat Mar 26, 2022 4:01 am May the op be successful Tyger

Somethings require urgency some don't -- the Prostate is relative benign organ ( after a certain age the function it performs is nice to have but less essential ) -- Kidneys are essential .

Thanks, medicals and covid tests done, just waiting to go in now, in lockdown for the weekend, so watching some rugby might help keep me busy.

Good luck Tiger. For once it sounds like something of a "silver lining" from that enlarged prostate.