It has really helped to know that there is so much love out there.

In accordance with his wishes, Jim has now been laid to rest at a small family committal.

However, I thought there would be more who would want to gather and share stories and memories of the man he loved and who touched our hearts as colleague and friend, and I arranged a Gathering at SWG3 to follow the family funeral.

It was great to enter a room full of life and friendship united together to celebrate his life.

To see so many friends and colleagues at SWG3 really touched my heart as did hearing the lovely tributes from family and colleagues. Jim was much loved in the housing sector and that’s why so many people were there on that day.

The tributes we heard from Fraser Stewart on the day brought to life what a respected man Jim was and how highly thought of he was in the world of community-controlled housing in the West of Scotland.

We heard how Jim wasn’t just remarkably articulate, witty and intelligent, and a brilliant writer, he was a wise and serious man, and more influential than some with much higher profiles. Business planning, policy development, as well as working with staff and committees he took in his stride with total commitment.

WC Fields said: ‘If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit’.

Jim was most definitely not a bullshit kind of person and always dazzled with his brilliance and his legendary people skills.

That his work made a real difference is what drove him and drove the excellence of his work. His legacy will continue.

He was truly a man of the people. A modest man who gave so much to so many.

A huge thanks to SWG3 for hosting the event and making it the worthy tribute to the great man I loved.

And a special shout out to Meryl Gilbert and Andrew Fleming Brown of SWG3. You did Jim proud. I am eternally grateful.

Andrew Leitch: Jim Harvey’s surviving partner.