Karl

Back in July of 2024 we lost our family friend Karl.

Karl was a kind and interesting man whom I enjoyed spending time with. He was a constant presence at events, family gatherings and life moments. I can still hear his distinctive laugh when I think of him. A slow bellowing high-toned laugh that was difficult not to smile at when you heard it.

As a child, to me Karl was just my Dad’s friend. But as I grew up I began to appreciate him for the man and family friend he was. I loved hearing his stories about the places in the world he’d been to. He would tell me about Amsterdam and Italy (before I’d been myself). I recall the story about him meeting drug-dealers in Amsterdam and how he explained to them that he was only looking for Vodka! He would tell me about his trip on the Orient Express and how he’d flown on Concorde. He was like a famous person, living this “fancy” life while everyone else around me was doing normal life things… I got to enjoy a little of this lifestyle myself when I went out to stay with him in Marbella. We would go out for meals in places where Operatic singers would wander around the tables while you ate. I felt like James bond… without all the swooning women and people trying to kill me.

It wasn’t all sunshine, fine dining and luxury for Karl though. He paid a hefty price for what he had. I remember him saying to me once, “I got everything I ever wanted in life, but it cost me my whole family”.

That statement taught me a life lesson. It’s the people around you who are the most important in life. Like everyone else I’ve had my fair share of death. I’ve lost my Mother, all my Grandparents, a best friend and many other people whose loss has had impact on me in one way or another. You can have everything you want. You can be anyone you want. But it’s all meaningless if the ones you care about most are not with you to enjoy it.

This was the case for Karl.

One of the last conversations I had with Karl was about my then upcoming trip to Australia, a place he hadn’t been to. He was genuinely excited for me to be visiting there. He was gone before I’d even left. That’s the thing about death. We all know it’s coming. We all know the people around us, and ourselves, will eventually die. But when it comes it’s always a shock. It’s always sad and you are always left wishing you’d said more… done more.

I love music, who doesn’t? Music has been a source of entertainment and escapism for me for as long as I can remember. From the days as a small boy playing on a tiny kids plastic piano pretending I was Freddie Mercury playing Bohemian Rhapsody, to a young man singing very badly and trying to learn and play Hunger Strike on guitar. It’s a cathartic space to deal with and endure all of life’s trials. During times like this, songs like Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd are as emotionally evocative as they come. And while I wish many people who have gone from my life were still here, on this particular day I was thinking about Karl while I played it. I am by no means a guitar player or a singer, but I have a go in the only way I can. It gets me through…

Wish you were here, Karl.