Since Grahame passed the overriding feeling I've had is 'inspiration'. There have been so many amazing comments and just a huge outpouring of memories, that it's clear to me that GC lived his life the right way - bringing positivity to the world, making memories and forging friendships. If I get to the end of my life and half as many people have as much nice stuff to say about me, I'll be really proud. 

So I've been thinking about what I can learn from him, and the Friday after we found out, I got an early lesson. 

I was due to meet a friend for dinner, but I was absolutely knackered. It had been a long, draining week and staying in with a takeaway was more than tempting.

I came close to texting my mate to cancel... but... I just knew it wasn't what GC would do. He'd see it as an opportunity wasted. 

So, I went. And surprise, surprise, I had a great time (although the Chinese was sub-par). Rather than feeling tired, I felt energised having reconnected with an old friend. I've got Grahame to thank for that and I hope I'm always going to have that little Grahame Carter voice in my head telling me to say yes and embrace opportunities for memorable moments.

Since he passed I've also been thinking about all my different interactions with him. Although we worked together for 11 years, I probably only had 3-4 projects that we worked closely on together. Despite this, he always greeted me (like he did with everyone) with familiarity and warmth - the famous GC fist bump or good natured dig. 

In conversations we had, we talked about family - I've got a young son and he talked about how quickly the time goes, with his kids grown up. We talked about lawns - I was surprised to find out how invested in lawn care he was! He gave me great advice about building a team of people I could trust. 

But the interaction that sticks with me the most and is (for me) the most telling of his character, happened really early on in my career. I was a very green (probably slightly cocky and irritating) 22 year-old working as a Junior Bid Writer. I was assigned to support Grahame in his role heading up the Energy team, for a bid to get onto the preferred supplier list of a nuclear company. Grahame was really keen to get the win and as it was one of the first bids I worked on independently, so was I.

We worked on the bid together and on the day of submission it all seemed to go in smoothly. But as I was doing my admin and filing away the paperwork, I noticed something in the documentation... A whole section of the bid response that I'd completely overlooked. An entire (extra) set of questions that needed answering, and hadn't been touched. And the deadline had already passed...

I can still remember the panic, the horror, the crashing sense that I had been utterly 'found out'. I couldn't believe I'd cocked up so badly. Once I'd gathered myself, I knew I had to face the music and fess up... so I called Grahame and went over to his office to tell him what had happened. 

I summoned up the courage and told him the mistake I'd made, expecting (rightly so) to be met with a fair bit of anger given that I'd almost certainly lost his team the opportunity to open up a new client and make thousands in new NFI. 

I'll never forget the first words he chose to say to me: "I want you to work on my next bid with me".

As I looked at him puzzled, he explained "you've just learnt a great lesson - I know you're never going to do that again, so I want you working on our next bid".

I left that office feeling indebted. It may not have seemed a big deal to some, but it was to me, and Grahame could see that. He showed me more kindness than he needed to - because he knew that underneath it all, nothing is more important than building relationships. And he was right - I never did make that mistake again. 

Today, I'll be reflecting on that lesson and many others I can take from Grahame. It still feels weird to say he's gone, but him and his family should be proud that he left behind more than the average lifetime's worth of memories, friendships and inspiration. 

Thanks for everything, GC. Rest in Peace.