Sad news
On Tuesday when I was on my way home, I noticed that I had a missed called on my phone from David H., a friend I hadn't seen or talked with since Pride 2007.
I did wonder whether he was in town for work and wanted to meet up but as I was feeling like death, I didn't get in touch until Friday, when I e-mailed him from work.
A couple of hours later I got an e-mail back from a friend of his to inform me that David had passed away on the Sunday: he had a heart attack on the previous Friday and his life support machine was switched off 2 days later, when he was surrounded by his family (I guess his two sons and, perhaps, ex-wife).
I was very shocked and saddened to hear the unexpected news.
I met David about 12 years ago when I was about to end my first relationship and he had just come out.
We became quite good friends. I can say that gay life was relatively new to both of us at the time, and we enjoyed meeting up probably about once a week at lunchtime to chat and at the week-end to go out to some new (to us) clubs.
I was with David at Bulk, in Vauxhall that night in April '99 when I met london1952 and my life changed.
A few months after I met Adrian, David met another David. It was quite the whirlwind romance and in a matter of few weeks they were already living together.
Then they had a commitment ceremony and a few months afterwards, they decided to move out of London, down to Devon (I think that's where the other David's mother lives).
At this point David and I started losing touch. The promised invitations to visit them 'in the country' never arrived and the Christmas cards were never reciprocated.
To this day, I don't really know what happened if it was the other David that prevented him from keeping in touch or if it was just the distance and being absorbed in a new relationship.
When Adrian and I got married we weren't ever sure of where he was and so he didn't get invited.
I was quite surprised when a few months later, he got in touch via e-mail: he was coming up to London and we arranged for him to come over for dinner and stay overnight.
It was then that we learned that the other David out of the blue had dumped him (and quickly replaced him) the year before, something that had come as a complete shock to him.
While on one hand catching up was really nice, I realised that we had both changed and that the friendship hadn't survived intact the long period of silence (5+ years)
So I wasn't really surprised that neither of us acted on the promises of getting together again either here or in Devon.
That week-end was the last time I saw David.
I am sad that now I'll never get the chance to say "sorry I didn't keep in touch".
I am sad that he was taken away so soon: he was the sort of guy that didn't think twice before embarking on some adventure whether it was falling in love at the drop of a hat, going scuba-diving or trying some new club.
Rest in peace David Halliday!
I did wonder whether he was in town for work and wanted to meet up but as I was feeling like death, I didn't get in touch until Friday, when I e-mailed him from work.
A couple of hours later I got an e-mail back from a friend of his to inform me that David had passed away on the Sunday: he had a heart attack on the previous Friday and his life support machine was switched off 2 days later, when he was surrounded by his family (I guess his two sons and, perhaps, ex-wife).
I was very shocked and saddened to hear the unexpected news.
I met David about 12 years ago when I was about to end my first relationship and he had just come out.
We became quite good friends. I can say that gay life was relatively new to both of us at the time, and we enjoyed meeting up probably about once a week at lunchtime to chat and at the week-end to go out to some new (to us) clubs.
I was with David at Bulk, in Vauxhall that night in April '99 when I met london1952 and my life changed.
A few months after I met Adrian, David met another David. It was quite the whirlwind romance and in a matter of few weeks they were already living together.
Then they had a commitment ceremony and a few months afterwards, they decided to move out of London, down to Devon (I think that's where the other David's mother lives).
At this point David and I started losing touch. The promised invitations to visit them 'in the country' never arrived and the Christmas cards were never reciprocated.
To this day, I don't really know what happened if it was the other David that prevented him from keeping in touch or if it was just the distance and being absorbed in a new relationship.
When Adrian and I got married we weren't ever sure of where he was and so he didn't get invited.
I was quite surprised when a few months later, he got in touch via e-mail: he was coming up to London and we arranged for him to come over for dinner and stay overnight.
It was then that we learned that the other David out of the blue had dumped him (and quickly replaced him) the year before, something that had come as a complete shock to him.
While on one hand catching up was really nice, I realised that we had both changed and that the friendship hadn't survived intact the long period of silence (5+ years)
So I wasn't really surprised that neither of us acted on the promises of getting together again either here or in Devon.
That week-end was the last time I saw David.
I am sad that now I'll never get the chance to say "sorry I didn't keep in touch".
I am sad that he was taken away so soon: he was the sort of guy that didn't think twice before embarking on some adventure whether it was falling in love at the drop of a hat, going scuba-diving or trying some new club.
Rest in peace David Halliday!