Blinky Bill

[Nienke]

Dear All,

I just received a dreadful and shocking message of Blinky Bill aka Ian's oldest daughter Jessica, who passes on the following message of her Aunt Caz..

This is Caroline .... , Ians sister. Ian was tragically killed Wednesday afternoon in a plane crash in Borneo.

His funeral is near his home in Java this Sunday the 29th of April in the afternoon.

If you would like to attend please contact his boss Greg Newberry on +62 eight one one19six seven 51

Please call me if you would like to speak to me on +61425 seven zero four 520

Ian was a much loved father, son, husband, brother and friend who will be terribly missed by us all.

May his memory live on forever in all of our hearts.

I was already wondering why it was so quiet from BB's side on Thaivisa. Now I know.

I remember when I signed up on Thaivisa, BB first thought I was a man, and reacted sometimes pretty tough to my posts. Once he figured out that i was not, the tone of his posts changed. Later when I met him for real, I think it was during Thaivisa's first party at Tuskers, I teased him about it.

I've popped into BB only a few times at Tuskers and Mad Dog, where he always acted like a true gentleman towards me. He was a very kind huge man with a small heart.

Dear Ian, Rest in Peace. Your passing is a real loss!

My heart goes out to his family and friends.

[slapout]

Not sure how to express my feeling to this tragic news. Condolenses to his extended family, Have they been notified? RIP good friend.

[harrry]

Really sorry to hear this. I never ran into him when he was a policeman in Heidelberg where I lived but I am sure he a a good one. I met him a couple of times in CM. He was a good person who I am glad to have met.

[ShopBoy]

R.I.P Ian

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/australian-among-two-killed-in-indonesia-light-plane-crash/story-e6frg6so-1226338808466

[Tywais]

That's terrible and shocking news Nienke. I've met him a few times and immediately took a liking to him. So sorry to hear this. My heart felt condolences to his family and friends.

[thaimiller]

I was only talking about him with Kevin from the Red Lion the other night, I never met him but his posts on here always used to amuse me, both good and bad. RIP Blinky

[miltonbentley]

I am very sorry to hear this sad news.

Ian was truly a larger than life character with a strong connection with Chiang Mai.

Our thoughts are with his family at this terrible time

RIP Ian

[Priceless]

May he rest in peace. My sincerest condolences to his family in Indonesia, in Australia and here in Chiang Mai.

Ian was a strong man with a soft heart. One of the nicest fellows that I have ever met!

/ Priceless

[eek]

So sorry to hear this.

Had never met Ian, sadly. Not to my knowledge anyway.

I would have liked to.

Truly sad.

RIP Ian.

[Boksida]

I counted Ian as a good mate and we stayed in regular contact. A giant of a man in so many ways, he will be missed by many.

Is it OK to paste a link to his Facebook page? It tells a lot about him.

[Rasseru]

Such sad news. Like many others, I liked him well as soon as I met him. Actually, that's not quite true. That understates it. I liked him well even before I met him. He was a kind man. A good-hearted man. One of the kindest and best-hearted I've ever met. Here's a story that will explain my disjointed rambling. More than five years ago, I came to know him in this way. I asked on Thai Visa Forum if anyone knew of a place in Chiangmai that sold Indonesian kretek cigarettes, explaining that I was partial to them. Some time later, I received a private message from him, with whom I had had no interaction before of any kind, in which he offered to pick me up a carton of kreteks in Indonesia and bring it to me the next week or sometime after not much longer than that. I wrote back immediately, thanking him for his kindness, but explained that sadly it wouldn't work. I was going to be out of town the whole time he was going to be visiting. Back he came with one of his 'No worries!' If I told him where I lived he would drop it off for me at home . . . and that's what happened, without us ever having met. We did not too long after, on his next visit to Chiangmai, and I was always happy to meet him thereafter. Did I mention his kindness and good heart?

[Tywais]

Is it OK to paste a link to his Facebook page? It tells a lot about him.

Not a problem. Here is a link to a page with Facebook friends remembering him. You can see his great sense of humor. Facebook Ian

[doppa]

never met the guy, but the 'posts' seem to say it all. rip.

[folium]

never met the guy, but the 'posts' seem to say it all. rip.

RIP

Story was on the World News section today.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/550858-south-african-australian-citizens-killed-in-indonesia-plane-crash/

[elektrified]

That is very sad news. I met him and had a chat with him for a couple of hours one night over drinks. I too, instantly liked him. I always thought I would like to meet up with him again as he was really a fascinating person with lots of experiences over his lifetime.

R.I.P. Ian

[harrry]

I hope this is not out of place. It shows the conditions he spent his days in......on a good day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjKEta8rYow&feature=related

Edited April 27, 2012 by harrry

[meadish_sweetball]

At first, Blinky and I got off a bit on the wrong foot as he had a tendency to go quite rough on newbies. But throughout the years we grew to understand each other better, and at one time both of us happened to be on the Sunshine Coast with a day to kill; Ian got in touch and we spent a day out together driving up into the mountains north of Brisbane to visit a friend of his, and had a great afternoon there over a beer or five. Great memory.

A strong man with a kind heart, as others have said. I will miss him and my condolences go out to his family.

[mrclough]

Very sad news indeed.

R.I.P. Big man!

[george]

Photo: Facebook

Rest in Peace, Ian, you were a great guy.

/The whole Thaivisa Team

[OldeBellPedr]

I got to know Ian quite well over the past year or two - he was a real 'pub' man - loved sitting at the bar and yarning about anything and everything. He was always happy to talk about his job, which took him to some pretty remote and desolate places - he knew the job had risks - and ultimately the risks have proved too great. The very riskiness of the job probably accounted for the fact that he looked at life full in the eye.

He walked into my pub a year or two back pumped my hand and announced ' I'm Ian McCullough, but you've probably never heard of me as anything other than Blinky Bill'. The man was not at all like his rather cantankerous ThaiVisa 'persona' and I liked him as soon as I started talking to him- as did everyone else who met him at The Bell.

He was one of those larger than life people you meet from time to time who's done far more things in life than you'll ever do, but who doesn't lord that fact over you.

I will miss you mate, As George says above, you were a great guy. I pray that you Rest in Peace.

[Rice_King]

Blinky Bill

Member Since 2005-12-02

OFFLINE Last Active 2012-04-25 09:30

Rest in peace Ian. Condolences to his family.

[tigerbeer]

Its beyond words what can be expressed about this beautiful and loving person. He was a dear friend of mine and would always message me on Skype to ask how I am doing. It was only a few weeks back and we were talking about when he would come back to Chiang Mai next. He brought such life to wherever he went around town. He was also a very big part of the expat Chiang Mai community. Full respect to you kind sir for the life that you lived. I will miss you Ian. RIP my friend.

[uptheos]

My fondest and scariest memory of Ian was back in 1997 (appx). He gave me a ride on the back of his bike from The Escape to Loi Kroh.......I really didn't mean to hug him, but the chicken rails were not sufficient! On TV we had many head to head encounters, in particular regarding England v Australia for The Ashes and of course he was always a gracious loser, wink wink.

One of the great character's with a good sense of humour and as he would say; "a bloody OK guy"

RIP Ian.....Blinky Bill will be missed.

[borisloosebrain]

Very sad news. Blinky Bill is also the name of a famous much loved Australian childrens' book. I was perusing my old copy nostalgically last week while in Melbourne for my mothers funeral. RIP Mr Douglas and condolences to your family.

[lazygourmet]

never met the guy, but the 'posts' seem to say it all. rip.

ditto...

R.I.P.

[pipo1000]

R.I.P. BB

[ThaiPauly]

One of the real characters on Thai Visa, I always had a great banter with him. He called me Thaipoorly and i called him Bikini Bill.

We met on several occasions, you could not help but like the big man.

This news is devastating, and my thoughts are with his family at this time

RIP Mate.

[kevjohn]

Rest in Peace Blinky Bill.

I never meet you BB but, being an osy myself, was always entertained by your posts.

[StevieH]

bloody hell this is awful news. only met blinky bill a few times in person but enjoyed a beer with him and he was a proper gentleman and a hugely likeable fellow. RIP and thoughts with his family at this time. pleasure to have met you ian.

[niller74]

Can't express the sadness I feel. I have known Ian for many years. Such a great and fun guy to be around. He will be missed by many.

Condolences to the family.

RIP Ian