{"id":2178,"date":"2021-03-25T15:25:11","date_gmt":"2021-03-25T05:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arundelparkrda.com.au\/?p=2178"},"modified":"2021-03-25T15:28:29","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T05:28:29","slug":"2178-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arundelparkrda.com.au\/bkup\/2178-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorial For Brian"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brian Pitkin<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

30th July 1946 – 21 March 2021 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We are saddened by the loss of a great mate and well-respected volunteer. Brian volunteered at APRDA for over 12 years and only retired in September of 2020, he was our go to man who could fix anything and loved a mechanical challenge. Brian created many interesting innovations in the work shed, that all came  with complex hand drawn diagrams, there were some great successes and the odd failure, but there is no doubt  the work shed and being at Arundel park was Brian’s happy place.  The maintenance crew looked at Brain as their leader, but he was always too modest for any formal recognition and was simply happy to get on with job and discuss the news of the day. We are all very privileged to have known Brian and to have shared many heartfelt moments, his legacy will always be etched in the grounds and memories of the APRDA community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brains family have generously offered that in lieu of flowers,  donations can be made to Arundel Park Riding for Disabled Inc. We greatly appreciate their consideration during this difficult time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Donations please follow the link to our GIVE NOW<\/strong> donation page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.givenow.com.au\/arundelparkrdadonations.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

All donations will help fund a memorial tree and  plaque in Brian\u2019s honour along with much needed tools and equipment that will help and support the maintenance crew (Brian’s gang) at APRDA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, Brian had a passion for poetry and we want to share a piece of his work with you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Challenge\u201d<\/strong><\/p>

Author: Brian Pitkin<\/strong><\/p>

<\/p>

His owner called him Precious.<\/p>

<\/p>

An impressive Billy Goat, despite his funny ways<\/p>

He used to like to go walking on every other day<\/p>

He was a known escape artist in the Houdini vein<\/p>

 <\/p>

He didn\u2019t do anything different on this early Sunday morn<\/p>

Just climbed the fence like he always did and head off for the fray<\/p>

He picked a flower, a rose or two<\/p>

Had a munch on some sweet grass covered in dew<\/p>

 <\/p>

Eventually made it to Main Street<\/p>

Thought \u201cIt\u2019s time to take a rest\u201d<\/p>

He was standing quiet and contented when Jim Amsley  driving the Wolsley came into view<\/p>

 <\/p>

But got a glimpse of another Billy when it stopped to give way<\/p>

Too much competition was now on display<\/p>

Time to act, no fear, running to the fray<\/p>

 <\/p>

That Billy hit Jim Amsley\u2019s bumper bar like a ram-rod gone berserk<\/p>

Then backed away and charged again<\/p>

This Billy was tough but in full retreat as Jim threw it in reverse<\/p>

 <\/p>

A crowd had gathered quickly<\/p>

There was action in the street<\/p>

Man against old Precious, it was time to take a seat<\/p>

Advice was flying random<\/p>

So Jim stopped his car, opened the door, sucked in his breath and swore<\/p>

He could feel his blood arising<\/p>

He was called to go to war<\/p>

He thought a rear-guard manoeuvre would even up the score<\/p>

So he circled and slid unnoticed<\/p>

The crowd held their breath with glee<\/p>

This was going to be stouch to remember<\/p>

Better than a Sunday on TV<\/p>

This was something to be talked about<\/p>

Whoever you may be<\/p>

 <\/p>

Having completed his rear-guard manoeuvre<\/p>

Jim slowly lined him up, and like an arrow tried and true he kicked him in the butt<\/p>

Precious spun on his back legs<\/p>

His belly full of rage<\/p>

Time to retreat \u2013 he\u2019s been hit from behind<\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

But Jim had his blood up<\/p>

This was a fight to the death<\/p>

He grabbed the goat\u2019s horns like he would never let go<\/p>

Precious responded in kind with a hit to the ribs<\/p>

 <\/p>

Jim was getting weaker but he would never give up<\/p>

So they pushed and grunted and pushed and shoved<\/p>

The crowd yelled encouragingly at every blow<\/p>

They even took sides<\/p>

You know how it goes<\/p>

 <\/p>

But it came to a demise<\/p>

With a quick, evil thrust<\/p>

Jim screwed the goats neck<\/p>

Got him off-balance and nailed him to the deck<\/p>

 <\/p>

But Precious wasn\u2019t finished<\/p>

He had his reputation to keep<\/p>

So used his secret weapon<\/p>

Spread his scent East and West<\/p>

The result was immediate<\/p>

The encounter complete<\/p>

 <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brian Pitkin 30th July 1946 – 21 March 2021 We are saddened by the loss of a great mate and well-respected volunteer. Brian volunteered at APRDA for over 12 years and only retired in September of 2020, he was our go to man who could fix anything and loved a mechanical challenge. Brian created many interesting innovations in the work shed, that all came  with complex hand drawn diagrams, there were some great successes and the odd failure, but there is no doubt  the work shed and being at Arundel park was Brian’s happy place.  The maintenance crew looked at Brain as their leader, but he was always too modest for any formal recognition and was simply happy to get on with job and discuss the news of the day. We are all very privileged to have known Brian and to have shared many heartfelt moments, his legacy will always be etched in the grounds and memories of the APRDA community.  Brains family have generously offered that in lieu of flowers,  donations can be made to Arundel Park Riding for Disabled Inc. We greatly appreciate their consideration during this difficult time. For Donations please follow the link to our GIVE […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arundelparkrda.com.au\/bkup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2178"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arundelparkrda.com.au\/bkup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arundelparkrda.com.au\/bkup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arundelparkrda.com.au\/bkup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arundelparkrda.com.au\/bkup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2178"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.arundelparkrda.com.au\/bkup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2190,"href":"https:\/\/www.arundelparkrda.com.au\/bkup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2178\/revisions\/2190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arundelparkrda.com.au\/bkup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arundelparkrda.com.au\/bkup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arundelparkrda.com.au\/bkup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}