Jim's Memorial Celebration - 6 May

Macdonald Burlington Hotel
Burlington Arcade
126 New Street
Birmingham
B2 4LJ

Charity Ball in memory of James Viney
(held in conjunction with the BTSS)

Saturday, 6 May 2006 - 7.30pm
Black tie - Dinner Dance with Drinks reception
Carriages at 1.30am

To reserve your ticket(s), please contact either:
Richard Viney: richviney@hotmail.com
or Emma Hopkinson (BTSS): Emma.Hopkinson@dlapiper.com

Ticket price: £40 per person

Menu:

Petit Salad of Salmon
Set on Green Beans & New Potatoes
With a Rustic Tomatoe Dressing
~
Roast Shoulder of Lamb with Herb Stuffing & Minted Gravy
Fresh Vegetables and Potatoes
~
Chocolate Coupe with Orange Cream
~
Coffee and Mints

Events will include a raffle / charity auction in aid of:
The Birmingham Children's Hospital (Education fund)

James was a wonderful and loving uncle to his nephews and neices and would have been very happy to see the surplus from this event making a real difference to the lives of sick and distressed children in his beloved home city of Birmingham.

We do hope you will join us for what is sure to be a fantastic laugh.

For parties of eight, we are likely to be able to accomodate you all on your own table. For smaller parties, we will endeavour to keep people together or near to each other in the table plan. Don't delay - get your tickets today!

Let's get on with the show!

I had the pleasure of playing opposite Jim as Annie Oakley in Solihull School's production of Annie Get Your Gun. Obviously we got to know each other fairly well as we spent most lunch times and evenings after school, plus a few unscheduled outings to random subtle smoking venues to rehearse our demanding roles.

Rehearsals were always an absolute pleasure and a total riot and at times we completely forgot the point of why we were there and the seriousness of how we were supposed to be representing the school. The most daunting part of the whole production for me was the fact that not only was Jim to be the first person I'd kissed in front of my parents, (!!) but he also stood a foot taller than me. (I'm still seeing the chiropractor now..!)

This posed certain problems when we were instructed to look passioately into one another's eyes... The very first time we rehearsed the dreaded kiss scene was a lunch time which coincided with a V.I.P. visit from a typically overbearing suit from OxBridge, who was unwittingly ushered into Big School for a taste of real drama.

To add a bit of authenticity, Jim decided at no notice whatsoever that he was going to commit the actor's most unforgivable act of using his tongue during the kiss, in order to spice things up a bit... My shocked and automatic reaction being to slap him around the face as hard as I could! Mr. Snooty fron OxBridge obviously didn't know his Irving Berlin, as he burst into riotous applause thinking what fantastic actors we were and that the slap was all part of the plot.

Jim and I spent the next 20 minutes laughing and unfortunately we had to pack up for the day. Jim threatened to repeat the Ad Lib during the final performance on the friday night, but thankfully we'd all drank too much wine when it came down to it on the night and he must have forgotten. I just want to say that Jim was one of the very few true gentlemen in this world and I'm honoured to have been given the chance to see him shine in many ways.

God bless you Jim. This one's for you .... X Sophie Bakewell

Posted on behalf of Sophie Bakewell

Hit for Six

Where do I start? I remember Jim bowling at me at speed (probably after watching one the Ashes) as a 7 year old in the back garden of Hintlesham Ave. Facing the pace and speed of a six foot odd (and more) 14 year old, to put it bluntly... I suddenly 'soiled my underwear!'

But my endearing memory of my cousin and that which summed him up was a chat we had on the No22 bus just before his premature death. I was on my way to an interview, rather scared, but straight away he tried to reassure me. His precise words were 'don't worry chief, be yourself and you'll hit them for six.' Well I am sure if the bat was in his hands, that would have been the case. Such was the man. A pal I admired, looked up to and above all will greatly miss. Pete

Posted on behalf of Peter Brookes

A 2:1 in talking rubbish, drinking and smoking!

I have been trying to write this for over a month now and still can't find the words. Here is my best attempt to describe my friend Jim and how much I will miss him...

We met at university in Exeter where we struck up an instant friendship. Jim was possibly the most intelligent man I knew. I don't know anybody else who was capable of achieving a 2:1 in a politics course having never attended a single lecture! I can vouch for that because I spent many of those lectures with my 'Bad Habits Professor' Jim talking rubbish, drinking and smoking.

Occasionally we went to lectures together, despite the fact that we were on completely different courses! One time, we were preparing ourselves for a Black tie ball when I was supposed to be at a Psychology lecture on Freud. I happened to mention how amusing some of the theories were and 1/2 hr later we were sitting in the lecture together, half cut and dressed in our dinner suits!!

Happy times. Jim and I also had a great pool rivalry and we often spent lectures in the Queen Vic together battling it out over a pint. We were very evenly matched and the pendulum would swing on a regular basis as each of us found form. When we teamed up as a doubles partnership, as we sometimes did, it was always worth sharking our opponents with a little wager which we invariably won!

Unsuprisingly most of my fondest memories of Jim involve our drinking exploits together. I was also priviledged to travel around New Zealand with him and see him catch his first fish. That trip also happens to be the only time I have ever managed to sleep through an entire 24 hr period. Needless to say this was induced by Jim's insatiable appetite for partying! Prior to our trip to NZ Jim also visited me in Australia where I was living at the time. He slept in the lounge and I have a fond memory of Jim's tale the next morning of how a burglar had attempted to enter the house via the patio doors only to be greeted by a huge Englishman 'looming' over him. Needless to say he scarpered as quickly as possible!

Those who know Jim know that he was never short of a tale to make you smile. Despite hearing some of them multiple times I never tired of them. Jim was proof that it really is the way you tell em' So Jim, I will miss you. I will miss my pool companion, and I will miss my drinking companion but most of all I will miss my friend. Bolt on fresher...

Posted on behalf of Richard Hunt