TO the strains of John Lennon's Imagine, hundreds of mourners filed into a funeral service yesterday to pay homage to the Scot who died in the Bali terrorist attack.
A floral display of the Saltire and a rugby ball adorned the oak coffin of Stephen Speirs, 36, from Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, who was killed last month in the bomb blast on the Indonesian island.
Tributes were paid to a ''wonderful friend'' who had a ''smile that could bridge the Clyde'', and the Rev Kenneth Gray, from Freeland Church in Bridge of Weir, led the service with the words: ''We should be thankful for the time we were lucky enough to have with Stephen.
''It is a wonderful tribute to him that so many friends have come here today to pay their respects to a truly generous man, who touched the lives of so many.''
Friends and family remembered a ''remarkably generous, fun-loving guy'' whose infectious enthusiasm for life ''touched all those lucky enough to meet him''.
Team-mates from the local Birkmyre Rugby Club, many wearing rugby shirts and kilts, led the congregation in singing the Scotland rugby anthem, Flower of Scotland.
Among the mourners was Ally McCoist, the former Rangers and Scotland footballer, who was a family friend.
So many people came to pay their respects to Mr Speirs - who left Scotland eight years ago to start a new life in Hong Kong - that some had to listen to the ceremony via speakers outside the chapel.
There were readings from Fraser McGhee and Kenny McKenzie, Mr Speirs's lifelong friends, who told of their ''best friend'' who was able to bring humour and enthusiasm to any occasion.
Mr McKenzie said: ''If life is about a balance between give and take, then Stephen's life was imbalanced.
''He gave far more than he took. Indeed, he found it hard to take, which is why he was such a good and genuine friend to so many.
''We will tell all our friends about him, and we will tell our children about him. This way he will live on for a very long time yet.''
Mr Speirs's parents, Andy and Sadie, were supported by son, Andrew, and daughter, Carolyn, as they left the service to the sound of the song, Angels, by Robbie Williams.
As the service in Scotland was taking place yesterday thousands of Balinese Hindus hoping to release the souls of the dead performed an elaborate ''purification'' ceremony amid the wreckage of last month's bombing that fractured life on the normally idyllic resort island.
They were joined by cabinet ministers, ambassadors and victims' relatives for the ceremony. Men chanted prayers, children danced and women prepared offerings of food, flowers and sacrificed animals.
Two ceremonies - one at the blast site and one at a nearby beach - were held to ''bring life back to Bali and to ask for the forgiveness of God to rebalance the imbalances of the last month,'' explained Ngurah Gede, one of the organisers.
Smaller ceremonies led by Balinese Hindus also were being held at the site of the World Trade Centre attack in New York and in London,
Sydney, Toronto and San Francisco.
According to Balinese tradition, a tragedy of this magnitude must be countered through a ritual cleansing designed to ''place the souls of the victims on the correct plane . . . and show them the right way to enter the next cycle,'' Mr Gede said.
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