I picked mi local paper up this morning and read about Steve's death a few days ago. I recently moved away from Embsay (where Steve lived) and hadn't spoken with him since the end of May, so it was a shock to say the least. I only moved about 8 miles away but enough to lose touch. I had the pleasure of doing quite a bit of decorating at the Scargills house over the past few years (I knew Deirdre when she taught at the school where I was caretaker). I remember the first day I was at their house doing some painting and he'd made me a cup of tea and brought some biscuits in for me when we inevitably got round to talking football (as we were to do on many occasions!!) and he nearly choked on his cuppa when he realised he'd made a brew for a Rotherham United fan!!! The last such person he thought would be decorating in Embsay. Anyway, as time went by, we developed a mutual respect for each others allegiances and Steve was always brilliant company while I was painting there. I'll really miss his cutting sense of humour and down to earth opinions on... well, everything. He was a great man and a credit to all things Barnsley and I will be paying my respects next Tuesday on behalf of all Millers fans.
