Features

Time Out... N Morris

Monday, 21st June 2010

Well my friends I have hard some dark moments bringing Ice Hockey back to life over these long years. Attending public meetings, buying the Storm back from the liquidators, struggling to make the rent at the M.E.N. Arena, mothballing the team, watching them knock Devonshire road flat and put all the kids out on the street, playing top flight hockey with no home, building the Ice Dome and even just surviving at times over the last few seasons have been real tough.

But it never came close to this weekend when I lost the greatest man that has ever been in my life, my father. He has been more than just an inspiration to me and a mentor he has always stood by me and supported me through the bad and the good times, an immoveable rock, a man that new no quarter and asked for none. I am very proud to be his son.

I am very fortunate to have had such a man in my life, he taught me many skills and prepared me for life. I am who I am today because of this man. From the days of schoolboy motocross preparing my engines in our shed at the bottom of the garden, late the night before race day to later running my pit crew when I went to four wheels. He helped me convert the shed where we used to work on the bikes together into my first office at the bottom of our garden for Comtec 27 yrs ago. He even built a paraffin heater to keep the place warm, but it blew up, oh yes we have had plenty of scary moments too, growing up with an old school engineer who’s own father was a cabinet maker and builder provides a very interesting childhood, lol.

When I had no fuel to put in my car in the early days of business he would come home after a 12 hour shift and siphon it out of his own car so I could keep going, it’s amazing what strength you gain from the belief of another human being. My father may not have had a lot of money but the wealth of knowledge, support and love he has given me, has known no bounds.

I could write pages on what we have achieved together from renovating old houses to him building and running my main workshops at Comtec for me, I just wanted to take a few minutes out to share with you my friends a little insight into the real man behind the Manchester Phoenix Ice Hockey Club.

Bye Pops I will love you forever...

Neil Morris with his dad and Tony Hand

Neil Morris and his father with Tony Hand


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