This must surely be one of the hardest emails i have ever wrote in my life.
As you all know we have had the great loss of our dear friend Ernest. I was at work when i heard the news as his girlfriend phoned me up to tell me the news herself. I could not believe it and kept telling her what are you saying. I just could not understand the words. A few moments later his father phoned me up to tell me the sad news. I met Ernest a few years ago and we soon became good friends. Later on he started to come to the bonsai club and we would always go together. Even though there was a 20 year difference we still became good friends. In fact when we used to go to the bonsai club there were many people who thought us father and son, and we would laugh at that and say we are good friends.
Ernest to me was more than a friend, more of a younger brother i never had, and if i had married and had children i would have wished them to be like him. He was kind hearted and always ready to help. Everytime i was in hospital, apart from coming to visit me he would tell me do not worry, i will go and feed the fish and water the plants for you and say hello to your father. He used to come to our house each time we needed something and then i would tell him to stay and eat with us. He really was one of the family and we were always pleased to see him. He used to come and help out and later say i have to be off to go pick up my girlfriend and off he would go. A swift bye and off to the girl he loved so much. We would go buy plants together in the hope of finding a plant which would be bonsai material. But we never agreed on anything having different tastes in everything, and i would say as long as you like it that is the important thing
Ernest besides being a good fish keeper was also a keen bonsai enthusiast and the artist in him came out when he would trim a tree, always taking care of the details. He was also greatly loved at the bonsai club and was friends with everybody there. He was also a great example to me because altough he always suffered from back pain and stomach pains and headaches, he lived his life to the full even though he would be in pain after a day's work standing up. He used to tell me "Today i am total loss", and i would smile when i would hear him say that, because it was a typical expression of his.
Apart from helping out others he also used to go to the Gwardamangia Ursuline sisters to clean up a fish tank they have there. He was also loved by the kids who used to ask him about the fish. In fact all the sisters were present at the funeral and told me i am glad you informed us as we would have felt bad if we did not know.
I guess there are plenty of other things one can write but i guess one of the sisters described him best when she told me he was a charitable person,
Yesterday there was the funeral and the church was packed up, in fact there were a lot of people standing up. The priest who officiated mass was the same priest who was going to marry him. And he said that Ernest accomplished in his 30 years what a person accomplishes in a life time, so his work in this world was finished.
I still cannot accept that i will not see him at our house and i want that such a person is not forgotten as such i would like to suggest that the club will in the future issue a cup in his name. It does not have to be for the best fish or the best tank, but a cup for kindess or for maybe for photography, something which he loved so much .
Ny dear friend i will miss you for the rest of my life and i know that you will pray from all of us from the place in heaven which i am sure you are already at. Probably you are smiling and saying "Why are you making such a fuss, kemm tghaggibhom. I am ok now i am in a better place".
Well now my friend i am the one at a total loss as you used to say but at least I know can communicate with you any time I want without sending any sms
God Bless you and I feel so honoured that you have been such a good friend and family member to me and my father, my greatest sympathies go to Carmelina and his Parents and sister and all his family