SO much has been said and written about “The Voice of the Boro” Ali Brownlee but I can’t let the first “From The Editor’s Chair” column since his death pass without paying a personal tribute.
I still can’t believe that we won’t be sparring with each other on the daily Headline Challenge which has become so popular on the BBC Tees breakfast show.
We laughed a lot and even sang off-key together when the Headline Challenge story demanded.
Here are my top Ali Brownlee memories...

PARMO PARTY: Ali Brownlee may have built his career in local radio but, make no mistake, he was a commentator up there with anyone on the national stations.
When you listened to Ali’s passionate commentaries, you felt you were at the match.
The highlight came in April 2006 when Middlesbrough came from 3-0 down on aggregate to beat Steaua Bucharest 4-3 to reach the Uefa Cup Final.
Ali was at his best and by the time Massimo Maccarone scored the 89th minute winner, he was beside himself with euphoria.
“He’s struck a stake through the heart of Dracula’s boys,” screamed Ali before adding: “Party, party, party – it’s everybody round my house for a parmo.”
Unforgettable.

COMING TO THE BOIL: It was May 29, 2013, and the Headline Challenge story was about a billboard in Los Angeles, with an advertisement for a kettle which bore a striking resemblance to Hitler.
The Northern Echo’s headline was “Mein Brew-rer” and, as usual, BBC Tees listeners had an hour to come up with a better one. David Laud, of Stockton, suggested the cheeky but brilliant “Hitler has only got one boil” and Ali descended into a fit of giggles. It set us all off and the show ended in chaos.
It was always Ali’s favourite Headline Challenge memory.

MOTHER’S PRIDE: IN March 2013, a special Mother’s Day Headline Challenge was arranged, with my mum, Margaret, and Ali’s mum, Mavis, joining us in the studio.
“Was Ali a chatter-box when he was a little boy?” I asked Mavis.
Mavis went on to tell the listeners how, when he first went to nursery school, Ali had kept the other children quiet all day by singing his Noddy songs.
“He’s still got his collection of Noddy books to this day,” she revealed.
The Voice of the Boro’s street cred had suddenly taken a nose-dive.

MR BEAN: The following Mother’s Day, Ali and I were given a cookery crash-course at Middlesbrough College, with our mums invited in to sample our chicken dishes.
Ali was a brilliant commentator but a terrible chef. He admitted as much, recalling the time as a teenager he’d made beans on toast for the first time and asked: “How do you do beans?”
When he had it explained that you simply heated them on the hob, he proceeded to place the can directly on the gas, with a single hole punched in the lid.

BATTERED AND BRUISED: Ali was kind enough to invite me and my Boro-mad next-door neighbour John Petty to a home match.
We expected to simply sit in the stands but were ushered into the commentary box and given a pair of head-phones each. John’s face was a picture as he was asked to give his thoughts on Boro’s line-up live on-air.
“I’m just an electrician,” he said, before warming to his task.
But what I remember most is the punishment former Boro player Neil Maddison had to endure as Ali’s expert summariser.
Ali was so passionate in his love for Boro, that whenever they came close to scoring, he’d grab Maddo’s arm in his excitement. When the Boro scored to seal a vital win, Ali manhandled Maddo: pushing him, slapping him and shaking him like a rag doll.
The poor bloke felt compelled to show me the bruises he’d collected during the season.

REMEMBRANCE: In August, 2006, Stockton teacher and musician Mike McGrother initiated a wonderful remembrance project to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War.
For each of the 1,245 local men who lost their lives in the conflict, a sunflower was grown and cut down in its prime.
Ali and I were among those asked to grow a sunflower in memory of an adopted soldier.
The flowers were gathered in a “garden of memories” for a remembrance ceremony outside Stockton Parish Church and Ali spoke with his usual passion and clarity about the importance of the occasion.
Then, typically, he went looking for Mike to thank him for organising something so memorable – and for giving him the chance to be part of it...

THANK YOU: December 28, 2015...Ali sent a message on Twitter after Middlesbrough fans showed their support for him by lighting their phones and chanting his name: “Boro fans, you make everything bearable,” said the tweet...

AND that was typical of Ali Brownlee, and why the overwhelming reaction to his death is so well deserved.
He gave credit so generously, made time for everyone, and had a gift for making the people of Teesside feel good about themselves.
I can honestly say, he was one of the nicest people I’ve had the pleasure to meet and I’ll miss our daily encounters on the airwaves enormously.
God bless, Ali.