Once a poster of here and fellow blogger along with me on another site, Bowburn Mag, has sadly passed away.
Those who have been around a while will know who I’m talking about, but for those who don’t all I can say is that he was a top bloke with a cracking sense of humour and a zest for life that was infectious.
You know I actually thought about him the other day. I wondered where he’d been hiding and never even knew he was ill. Naturally this has come as quick the shock to me but all I can do is pass on my condolences to his wife and young family.
I’m not going to pretend we were best friends or anything like that. We spoke via e-mail a lot of the time although I did meet him once before a match in our Championship season and had a few pints with him. Even from that you could tell he was a top bloke.
RIP Bowburn Mag!
Absolute shock Toonsy. Didn’t know he had been ill with his heart either. Always a great laugh and a talented blogger. Sponsored him when he did his charity bike ride that was only just over a year ago. Smashing bloke and family man. With sincere condolences to his wife and bairn.
geordie deb(Quote)
Well said Toonsy.
Like I said I remember looking at .org at the start of the Championship season for the first time and he was writing so I read on. Seemed like a top bloke.
R.I.P Bowburn Mag.
dan4toon(Quote)
good of you to write a thread for him,i talked to him quite a bit on hear,did his bit for charity as well did a few runs ect i seem to remember, played the game a little too.R.I.P mate,ill miss you 😥
icedog(Quote)
That bloody bike ride 😆
I remember giving him stick about it. He said he’d do it on a unicycle just to prove me wrong 😆
toonsy(Quote)
Toonsy @4 I bet he did. He was on here in the summer, sure he said he was working up in Edinburgh at the time. He must have only been in his mid- late 30’s or something. Absolutely tragic
geordie deb(Quote)
I’d just like to echo the sentiments of the article and comments, I didn’t know him personally but have had a bit craic with him on the blogs and even the odd disagreement, top lad, top blogger, top Toon fan, RIP mate, you’ll be missed.
richietoon(Quote)
Awful news that Toonsy.
I remember Bowburn Mag well. He used to get on here loads. And as you mentioned he seemed a top bloke.
I think he’d certainly have appreciated your comments.
Big shame. RIP Bowburn Mag
Geordiedan(Quote)
JEEZ!
I really am shocked and saddened.
Anyone know what happened?
Condolences to his wife and children.
Stuart79(Quote)
I think he was still writing for .org when i jumped ship, Seemed pleasant
So sad for his young family.
CC(Quote)
Stuart says on TOTT it was his heart
geordie deb(Quote)
Great shock.I sponsered him a couple of times and he ran the Great North Run with my late sons name on his shirt.very sad day.RIP
Guiness(Quote)
Mark posted this on the last thread so hope he doesn’t mind me re-posting it, brings a tear to the eye.
mark says:
December 12, 2011 at 11:41
seemed a difficult condition to work with. hope nobody thinks i’m insensitive for putting this up but Bowburn explains his condition and shows what a nice bloke he was.. I welled up reading it
Fair to say the last couple of weeks has been unreservedly the longest and worst of my daft little life and the original help thread I sent out seems a lifetime ago. There’ll be time for pisstaking and I’ve managed a couple of times in the last week or so to get on read the banter, and it’s kept me going. I’m not going to claim I’m not cliched because I am. And I look to some of the lads on here as older brothers I never had and mates I’ve never met. They said it helps to express yourself and let it all out so here we go, I know most of you generally care. Part of the reason I haven’t tried to update is my brain has been ****** beyong belief with the drugs and sedatives I’ve been under so I’ve been misifiring like hell.
Basically after being stabilised when I got admitted on the 31st, I ended up transferred to Glasgow to a specialist team. The diagnosis/prognosis was not right at the time but they’ve since discovered I had a rare, unique condition (less likely than Ashley spending money on NUFC) brought on rapidly by something as simple as the common cold, whereby the infection attacks your heart (giant cell myocarditis), and this results in heart failure. There’s literally no research data on this as they’ve single figure cases around the world, so I’m a working paper and they need work closely with some ‘leading world experts’ to help my recovery, even some the medical lads on here will struggle to fathom.
In short, what they’ve done is install a pump in my heart so the ****** keeps ticking and they’re hopeful with mininmal data published I’m more ‘bridge to recovery, meaning they hope my heart can reover itself in time and I won’t need a transplant. Everything I do is fucking hard work, sitting up, it’s uncomfortable but I keep thinking I’ve had a second chance. The staff here at the hospital are so utterly in my debt I always feel wrong when I don’t end a sentence by saying ‘thanks for saving my life.’ There are literally no words to express my gratitude. I was telling my surgeon how I felt knackered after simple short walk and I was a bit tender “Well we cut you in half and sowed you back up so it’ll probably smart a bit”. The man is cool as **** and my fucking hero.
So the upshot is, I’m safe for now and on a very tough trip to recovery with lots of life changing things to deal with, but I’m alive and by **** does it feel good. These lyrics played through my head when I felt myself on the way out and I realised I couldn’t leave my family behind just yet
richietoon(Quote)
seemed like a good lad with a wry sense of humour. just goes to show how fragile life actually is. Very sad for his family
tattyheed(Quote)
Wow sad and so shocked. Just shows you to live life to the full and cherish each day.
Raffo(Quote)
Really sorry to hear the news. I’ve had some good craik with BBM on here and ‘on the other side’ and he had a good sense of humour as well as great insight about the goings on in football generally and Newastle United in particular.
Life though must go on and I’m sure his wife and family will cherish the many happy memories of times they shared with him.
🙁
lesh(Quote)
Mark and Ritchie
That is so unbelivevably sad.
geordie deb(Quote)
RICHIE thanks for putting that up,very sad but lets bloggers know what was going on for the poor lad 😥
icedog(Quote)
There’s an opportunity to refelect on BowburnM during the tribute to Gary Speed – I’m sure Gary wouldn’t mind good company on his day.
lesh(Quote)
I never had he pleasure of meeting Bowburn Mag.
I certainly remember his user name.
Condolences to his family and friends.
geoff777(Quote)
Top guy who I never had the chance to meet in person, posted intelligent comments and respected the views of fellow bloggers (unlike some).
RIP Steve and sincere condolences to your family and all your friends.
TonyGreenSupreme(Quote)
****! 🙁
Ah man, I thought about him quite a lot and did wonder where he was, so much so that I thought he may have changed his username. Although I never met the bloke, I used to banter with him all the time on Ed’s blog, and whenever he popped up on here, if I saw him. I found out a couple of years ago he was the cousin of an old mate of mine, Oz, from Monkseaton, 6 degrees of separation and all that. He was a really nice lad, and funny too, always up for a bit of daftness as well as the serious stuff.
I just read Richie’s post, cheers, which sheds some light on why he ain’t been about for ages. What a shame, he was so young, and a fit lad too.
I can’t believe it!
RIP Bowburn Mag
X
Rodzilla(Quote)
OMFG 😯
As like a lot of you, I never got to meet BBM but did have some good craic with him on here & other boards, remember him telling us about his condition, just so sad the ops didn’t work out for him & his family 😐
RIP fella, my condolences goes out to your family & friends at this difficult time 😥
Toon69(Quote)
So sad to read this. RIP brother x
Lacedaemonian(Quote)
R.I.P Bowburn
We will keep your flag flying.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
RIP & condolences to his wife & family
premandup(Quote)
I remember him from Ed’s blog, shocked to hear this. RIP Bowburn Mag, I hope you’re in a better place.
54times(Quote)
Very sorry to hear that. RIP
MDS(Quote)
Shocked and saddened to see this news. As Lesh said, it would be great if some of the lads could do something for him at the game this weekend
AndrewT(Quote)
fkin stunned,great lad 😥
RIP bowburn
hitman(Quote)
RIP BBM, it’s a shock and he’ll be missed.
NorthernPaul(Quote)
Shocker. Seemed like a genuinely nice bloke from his posts. RIP fella.
Davies(Quote)
Very sad news! Always seemed likes canny lad even though we didnt always agree. Condolences to his family 😥
Toon Chicken(Quote)
Can’t concentrate today thinking about BBM as I said one of the best bloggers I have had the pleasure in talking to.
Always had a good bit of banter with him about how good a player he was 😀 .
I will never forget him, and I told him that one night a few months ago via Twitter when I found him on there.
Top Bloke and a real Family man .
My condolences to all his friends and Family.
RIP mate 😥
Big Dave(Quote)
I know what ya mean Dave, just read Bowburn’s write up to wor lass, bit of a lump in the throat.
richietoon(Quote)
gutted bowburn would fight his corner against any 1 and every 1 ,always liked his veiws massive KK fan he is 1of the few people on these blogs who ive never fell out with ,RIP Bowburnmag 🙁
batty(Quote)
I liked his sense of humour and serious comments
Condolences to his family & friends R.I.P.
B1GSTEVE(Quote)
Didn’t know him other than through this blog but always had a decent point of view (albeit somewhat misguided at times)
RIP Bowburn
Condolenses to family
stevep(Quote)
Batty he would also help fight someone elses corner, if he thought they were in the right and being wronged. 😉
Big Dave(Quote)
Didn’t know him that well, but he commented on a lot of my articles added interesting debates etc to the stuff in them. Commented on my first ever article about Colo saying that he loved him and his curly hair, loved that comment!
RIP Bowburn, my thoughts go to your family
Zoë Vicarage(Quote)
Rip Bowburn , shocked and saddened by the news
Johno Toon(Quote)
Totally shocked by this and very saddened. It was his articles and comments that first got me interested in this site (.org at the time).
A gentleman and truly nice guy. RIP
georgio(Quote)
I didn’t know the lad but condolences to his family and R.I.P Bowburn.
wolfie(Quote)
Rest In Peace BBM. Shows hoe fragile life is and how we should cherish and appreciate those that we love…
Shamrock(Quote)
Unutterbly saddened by this news. BBM was such a great lad. I loved his blogs, he was always level headed, funny and kind. Really new his Footie. He was a real gentleman and always stuck up for me if other bloggers gave me a hard time for being a woman on a Footie blog. He will be missed. Heartfelt condolences to his family.
Jill(Quote)
terrible news rip mate
ice pup(Quote)
Hope you don’t mind a Mackem temporarily joining in. BowburnMag (Thomma) is a good mate of mine and we’re all struggling to come to terms with what has happened. Whilst he has been ill for a few months, we just expected him to pull through as if nothing was wrong, it’s the type of lad he is.
He fought until the end but it appears that it was all too much for him. I saw his wife today and both she and his Dad were moved by what they had read on vitalfootball and I’m sure they will read this as well.
It’s easy to be nice about someone once they’ve passed but Thomma was and always will be a great lad.
I always gave him stick for his blogs but he saw you lot as mates, even those he hadn’t met. I hope you are all proud, not only to have known him but to also be classed as his friends.
RestlessNatives(Quote)
Restless, he’ll be sadly missed, condolences to his family, you and the rest of his mates.
richietoon(Quote)
Massively shocked at this. We agreed on most things, and I always wanted to take up his offer of buying him a pint before a game. I never got the chance. He seemed a genuine, honest bloke that I knew I could be mates with if I met him in real life.
Like me, he hardly ever posted on here anymore but when he did it was always worth reading.
RIP
Micky Toon(Quote)
rip BBM a friend i never met.my thoughts and prayers to your family and friends
toonitis(Quote)
devastating news for us bloggers but an absolute tragedy for his wife and child. he wrote a lot of sense and always with humour and respect, Will be a huge loss to his family
Toby le Rhone(Quote)
R.I.P bowburn mag , i’ve just seen the tribute given by his mate , on worky’s blog.
he will never be forgotten 😥
TROJAN RECORDS 73(Quote)
Shocked and saddened to read this news. Could tell he was very patient and sensible. Rest in peace. Another young families christmas ruined. 🙁
DJG(Quote)
Shocked is an understatement, bowburn was a top bloke, I’m gutted to hear the news, my thoughts and prayers are with his family. Rest in peace BBM
jay jay(Quote)
It’s shocking really.I mean Steve was one of the fittest blokes around with his bike riding and footy and everything else. Still struggling to get my head round it to be honest 🙁
toonsy(Quote)
Very sad to hear such terrible news.. Rest in peace BBM. Always felt like I knew you even though we never met….
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Had to jump on to pass on my condolences to BBM’s young family and his friends. He was a top bloke who always had a very level head in his comments and thoughts that you could have good debates. Puts things into perspective. RIP mate, god bless you!
toonrobbybobson(Quote)
Terrible… such sad news…
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
Really sad news. RIP buddy Bowburn 😕
Newkie(Quote)
Evening lads…
Haven’t posted on this site for a very long time but a regular reader..This thread is poignant for me as Bowburn was a good friend of mine who I both worked with and played football with…
For those of you who met Thomma, you will know how special the lad was. For those who didn’t, he obviously made a huge impression looking at the comments above. Sometimes it is hard to imagine what a person is like in “real life” away from the internet, but he was as tremendous as all the comments above describe..
A truly inspiring character who will be dearly missed by all those whose path he crossed…
I noticed a comment above regarding doing something at the game on Saturday..I am going to dedicate my minutes applause to Thomma and Gary Speed. If anyone has any other ideas, even meeting for a pint in the Forth (He used to love a pint in there) let me know…
Ruts(Quote)
I’ve spent my spare time the last few days reading pretty much everything people have had to say about my mate Tomma. Still can’t believe it, was heart broken on Sunday when I got the message. I played football with Tomma for years on Saturdays and Sundays. You could not meet a nicer lad. Even the people who have never met him reading through the messages have summed him up to a tee. Wish I’d known he was a blogger, could have had a bit more banter with him all these years. Bet they were a cracking read.
‘Textbook Tomma’ was a very good footballer at non league level, a great team mate and a even better friend to be around. Was talking to one of the lads last night and we were saying what we’d remember about him. First thing we both said was his smile! He was always smiling, the most positive person you’d meet. Never seen him lose his temper on or off the pitch, even when getting kicked up a height. He’d simply dust himself down and get up and then try and ‘meg’ the lad who’d kicked him. Normally on the edge of own box to the our managers delight!
The smile, magaluf banter, the classic Tomma stance with a bottle of lager, the diving header, sense of humour, and always managing to get to the front in group pictures are all things I’ll remember about my mate. Just hope he realises just how well liked by everybody he really was.
Scorer of the best team goal I’ve seen on a Sunday morning, will always remember that ‘Bryan Robson’ esque diving header!
Steve Watson(Quote)
Never had the pleasure to meet Bowburn but from what everyone one here says and from reading his comments i get the feeling,he was a football man who loved the Game but far more importantly his family.RIP we will try to fill the blog with wit and intelligence as you always did my thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Tommy Gibb(Quote)