The Ed Tackas way.

From Loans Insider magazine - Nov 2018

This month we said goodbye to Ed Tackas, a friend of many years and someone who was well known in our industry despite not actually being in finance. Ed was the publisher of this very magazine, as well as co-owner of the BestAdvice news channel and previously the Niche Publishing Group. He made it happen every two months consistently for the last five and a half years while being in a lot of pain. Ed pulled together advertisers, editorials, photographers, lenders and me, to make the magazine happen. Quite often, I wondered how on earth he managed to do it.

You see, Ed had bowel cancer and had fought it with dignity and positivity for the entire existence of this magazine, nearly 6 years. The first time the doctors said it was treatable, but not to expect much. Ed survived: “Ed 1 – Cancer 0”, he shouted triumphantly down the telephone, following a long painful stint of chemotherapy. The second time they said surgery was necessary but unlikely to work. They’d try their best to get it all out. Ed was his normal positive self before going under the knife. He called me and said, “If I don’t see you again, take care and say ‘Hi’ to Vicky” – my wife; he'd made the trip to Cardiff a few months beforehand to celebrate her 40th birthday. He survived the operation: Ed 2 – Cancer 0! He called me from his hospital bed a few days later. “Cor blimey mate – that was a close one!” came his cheery voice.

Ed was an industry character who was well-known for wearing hats and brogues and generally looking dapper seven days a week. People used to ask him if he was a musician. He wasn’t. He was just my mate Ed, a publisher. Positive, consistent, fun to be around. I loved to meet up with him for an impromptu three-course lunch and an afternoon telling stories, sipping beers and cocktails, moving from bar to bar around the City or West End, sometimes in Cardiff and usually following a photo shoot for the magazine.

Ed called a few weeks ago, sounding very upbeat as usual;

“Great news mate – I’ve retired!” he exclaimed. I was glad as I’d long believed he should have done so a while back, but he loved his work. “Bad news though – I’ve only got a few weeks to live”.

The Big C was back and this time it was going to chalk up its point on the scoreboard. A bunch of us (Kevin Rose, Darrell Walker, Ian Ascott and I) got together and shared a meal and a drink with him at his favourite pub in Portsmouth, looking out over the harbour in the early autumn sunshine. As I left the group, Ed shook my hand, “Have a good life mate – it’s been a blast”, he said with a big smile. He passed away this week.

Next time adversity hits me in the face, I’ll be dealing with it with positivity and courage - the Ed Tackas way.

Matt Cottle, Chief Executive, Specialist Mortgage Group.