At noon today, in a small church near his Lochyside home, Charles Kennedy’s funeral will take place. Large numbers of people, including me, will be heading north to pay their respects. Many of us still haven’t quite got our heads round what’s happened. We are, however, all acutely aware of how much the world in general and the UK and Europe in particular will miss a man who could speak to both sides in an increasingly polarised political environment.

We want to pay our respects to Charles here on LDV, so today Paul Walter has lined up a series of posts that we hope you will find interesting and appropriate. It’s very much about Charles and who he was.

I just want to share this tweet of Charles’ from 10 September last year. Just before the referendum, he and Willie Rennie went up a mountain. They didn’t climb, because that wasn’t Charles’ way (something I get entirely) – and I have to laugh at Willie for wearing a suit. Who does that up a mountain, really? Charles was much more appropriately dressed.  He recorded a message up there in that gorgeous setting that was broadcast at a massive Lib Dem rally in Edinburgh the next night. It doesn’t seem to be available on the internet anywhere, and we have tried to find it but to no avail so far. But here’s the photo.

Please feel free to share your memories of him in the comments below. I’m also remembering another blistering hot June Friday four years ago when we said farewell to our friend Andrew Reeves. People shared their memories of him on Twitter as they travelled to Edinburgh for his funeral. Mike Moore even read some out during his eulogy. Some of them even made him blush and the rest of us laugh. I wondered if it might be something we might want to repeat today, using the hashtag #rememberingCK. Share your photos and stories of a very special man.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social