like most people i have a lot of pals, mates, muckers and chums.
i do not have many friends, i have been blessed with a group of friends i don’t really deserve, but sometimes you get lucky.
the last fortnight has been a very mixed one. i got to spend time with one of my oldest friends, adam, someone i haven’t seen for a very long time. he was visiting the country for the first time in 17 years. we chewed the breeze, we shot the shit, and we put the world to rights. part of the reason for him being here was a school reunion. it won’t surprise people to know i am not big on school reunions. why? because i am a miserable bastard.
surprise surprise, i had a good time. i only talked to a few people, but it was enough. anjuna looked as lovely as she did all those years ago. aside from much less hair andy could have been the same teenager who built his own synthesiser. janet looked even more gorgeous than when she was in the 6th form and i felt the pangs of unrequited love i had for her back then (ah the joy of angst ridden 6th form poetry from a broken heart – don’t worry i won’t repeat any of it). as we talked the years slipped away and i could remember being back in the sixth form telling jokes, making up wild stories, planning a band (well several in fact – even though i had no musical talent).
the evening ended. i was sad to see them go, best of all there were no false promises to keep in touch. the evening was what it was: a small reminder of what it was like to be a teenager with no cares in the world.
a few days later adam has to return to the states.
all is back to normal.
a few days later i am trying to contact another friend, emma woods, in order to get her to contact an old colleague as he needs some information from her. the number he has for her doesn’t work. the number i have for her just gets a ‘please try again message’. in the end i contact someone else to see if he has another number for her. a day or so later i get a message from him to phone him.
i do.
i get the news that emma is dead. no one is sure how. we are still waiting to know.
i don’t have a coherent picture of my friendship with emma. we met through work. it was a fiery relationship – full of rows and arguments. we loved each other in the way only friends can do. we shared ups and downs. we talked about serious stuff, we talked about silly stuff. we loved comics and movies. we hated each other’s music. she was there when i developed my man crush on bruce willis: the night we went to see die hard 2 in the prince charles cinema, just before she flew out to los angeles to work. we called each other late at night just to swap burps and swear words. she was one of the creators of the ‘geppi heads’ an event that still makes me smile, but it can’t be explained to anyone who wasn’t there.
as with many things we grew apart and as friends are wont came back together again. things had changed for both of us, but it didn’t matter we could still swear, we could still burp, we could still talk shit.
emma was intelligent, talented, outspoken, infuriating, passionate, argumentative and annoying. most of all, most importantly, she was my friend, and i was lucky to know her.
i will miss her.
i do not have many friends, i have been blessed with a group of friends i don’t really deserve, but sometimes you get lucky.
the last fortnight has been a very mixed one. i got to spend time with one of my oldest friends, adam, someone i haven’t seen for a very long time. he was visiting the country for the first time in 17 years. we chewed the breeze, we shot the shit, and we put the world to rights. part of the reason for him being here was a school reunion. it won’t surprise people to know i am not big on school reunions. why? because i am a miserable bastard.
surprise surprise, i had a good time. i only talked to a few people, but it was enough. anjuna looked as lovely as she did all those years ago. aside from much less hair andy could have been the same teenager who built his own synthesiser. janet looked even more gorgeous than when she was in the 6th form and i felt the pangs of unrequited love i had for her back then (ah the joy of angst ridden 6th form poetry from a broken heart – don’t worry i won’t repeat any of it). as we talked the years slipped away and i could remember being back in the sixth form telling jokes, making up wild stories, planning a band (well several in fact – even though i had no musical talent).
the evening ended. i was sad to see them go, best of all there were no false promises to keep in touch. the evening was what it was: a small reminder of what it was like to be a teenager with no cares in the world.
a few days later adam has to return to the states.
all is back to normal.
a few days later i am trying to contact another friend, emma woods, in order to get her to contact an old colleague as he needs some information from her. the number he has for her doesn’t work. the number i have for her just gets a ‘please try again message’. in the end i contact someone else to see if he has another number for her. a day or so later i get a message from him to phone him.
i do.
i get the news that emma is dead. no one is sure how. we are still waiting to know.
i don’t have a coherent picture of my friendship with emma. we met through work. it was a fiery relationship – full of rows and arguments. we loved each other in the way only friends can do. we shared ups and downs. we talked about serious stuff, we talked about silly stuff. we loved comics and movies. we hated each other’s music. she was there when i developed my man crush on bruce willis: the night we went to see die hard 2 in the prince charles cinema, just before she flew out to los angeles to work. we called each other late at night just to swap burps and swear words. she was one of the creators of the ‘geppi heads’ an event that still makes me smile, but it can’t be explained to anyone who wasn’t there.
as with many things we grew apart and as friends are wont came back together again. things had changed for both of us, but it didn’t matter we could still swear, we could still burp, we could still talk shit.
emma was intelligent, talented, outspoken, infuriating, passionate, argumentative and annoying. most of all, most importantly, she was my friend, and i was lucky to know her.
i will miss her.
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