Goodnight and god bless, Comrade.
Agree or disagree, like or loathe, you can't help but admire the man for having the balls to stand up to politicians and railway management alike.
I've not been on the railways long (still a boy on the job) but I've heard some of the stories about the things that have changed for the better for us as members of the RMT under Bob's leadership.
When you've seen him on the telly, he comes across as a bit of a bully, very much stuck in the old ways. However, he's been to my depot on more than one occasion so I have been told, and was actually quite a charming man, who had the ability to engage almost anyone in decent conversation, including some of our managers, about things that weren't in the slightest related to the railways.
I am the first to admit, some of the tactics used by the RMT in general, and Bob in particular were very distasteful and not seen as the best move by some (including me), but he has gone some way to making the job that we, as RMT members do, that bit more bearable. And for that, we MUST be truly grateful.
Someone has a LARGE pair of shoes to fill, and I look forward to meeting his replacement out and about when he is campaigning. (if that's the right word)
Sleep well, brother.