Andy Buchan - a tribute 

Last Updated :25/12/03

Andy at Worcester BF 2003

A tribute to Andy Buchan, scooper from Worcester who died on the 21st December 2003.

I knew Andy for quite a few years.  He was one of those scoopers that you saw at festivals but didn't know for quite a bit until we got talking one day.  It turned out he was into railways, so we had some long discussions and we even spent 9 days in Croatia and Slovenia with some mates during February 2003 travelling on the trains and drinking the local beers.  He loved to travel and taste different beers no matter where they were from as he proved admirably on this trip, scoring over 50 beers and about 20 breweries!

He had his 10,000th in January 2003, a remarkable achievement for a diabetic and something for which I have total respect.  He often remarked to me that now he had scored his 10K, the next target was 10,000 different breweries and he made a good start during our Balkans trip, and also had friends bring him bottles back from their overseas visits.  

He was a great lover of Belgian beers, and one of my last meetings with him was when he took us to the Criterion in Leicester which probably has the best Belgian list in the UK.  We spent a few happy hours there sampling the brews and Andy even bought some Cantillon Lou Pepe to take home - at £8 a bottle!  Without Andy we would probably never have found this place.

He died at home on Sunday 21st December and his funeral was in Bangor, where he came from, on Tuesday 30th December.  I'm sure everyone who knew him was as shocked and saddened as I was to read of his extremely premature death and I have nothing but respect for the bloke who refused to give in to his diabetes and lived life to the full.  His dream of scoring 10,000 breweries will now never be realised, but I will raise a glass from each new one I have in his honour.

Go well, Little Andy.  All the best mate.

Gazza.