Oh wow. Really sad news. He was part of our group who went to away games back in the day so there's a personal element in the sadness. Sat behind him and Adrian, one of the other members of the travelling gang at Everton in 2014. We had a good reminisce and laugh about those days, when we spent a lot of effort and ingenuity in avoiding trouble rather than seeking it out, including impersonating a group of deaf mutes on a bus in Newcastle.
He was just a filing clerk in those days but went onto to do great things in the council. Instrumental in rebuilding the city after the IRA bomb, bringing the Commonwealth games here and working with the City ownership on redeveloping East Manchester.
There's a funny story about his knighthood as he was separated, but not divorced, from his first wife Yvonne. She worked with my ex, so knew her quite well. Because they weren't divorced she got the title Lady Bernstein, which she was very proud of, and had it on her chequebook.
