Today finds me in a reflective mood due to a number of recent events. Partly it’s the come-down from the buzz and excitement of the past couple of weeks being up in Glasgow for COP26. That was such an amazing time with so much going on that it’s unsurprising the rush wearing off is having an effect. Even so, I was actually looking forward to coming home, but things haven’t quite gone the way I was hoping.

Part of that is due to hearing about the sudden deaths of two people. One of whom was an old friend. The other was someone I’d never met in the flesh but whom I’d spent years sharing social media with. I found out yesterday that a chap called Russell Saxton had died unexpectedly. Russell and I had been sparring partners (99% of the time on the same side) on social media for 15 or more years. We had a lot in common (politics, music, railways etc) but had never actually got around to meeting. Oh, we’d planned it. But other things always got in the way. But then you often think ‘there’s always next time’. Until there isn’t…

The other death was that of someone I’ve known for far longer. I first met Axel Honslaar in India back in the mid 1990s. Lynn had met him and his partner Lucie Walta in Goa, India when she was out there without me (on a work trip). Afterwards Lynn decided to have a couple of week’s holiday and pitched up in Arambol, Goa – a place I’d first introduced her to in 1993. Axel and Lucie had cycled all the way from the Netherlands to India and fell in love with Arambol. So much so they decided to stay and set up their own little business selling Dutch apple pies to the travellers and restaurants that lined the beach. They called their business ‘Double Dutch’. I met the pair of them when Lynn and I returned a year or two later. The four of us instantly hit it off. Axel and Lucie’s business really took off too. So much so that they ended up opening their own cafe, employing several local women which was a first as working in Chai shops and restaurants was a male preserve. The pair of them were philanthropists, not just employers, they did a tremendous amount of charity work (in fact Lucie still does). Off season they’d go to Nepal, where they started a small charity in the village of Barpak in Gorkha district. In 1998 Lynn and I joined them on one of the Nepal treks they used to organise to raise money for the charity. It was a fabulous 10 days trekking away from the usual tourist trails.

When Lynn and I visited them in Arambol we’d end up sitting with the pair of them, chatting and drinking – including Axel’s favourite local tipple – Old Monk rum. They were lovely times, but times change. Lynn and I last visited Goa in 2003, then we split up in 2010. Axel and Lucie also split up. Lucie stayed in Goa, maintaining the business and charity work, whilst Axel eventually returned to the Netherlands, but we all stayed in touch via Facebook, although that platform being what it is – you didn’t always get to see what each other were doing. Axel and I would swap messages and I’d always thought that – one day – when I was over in Holland I’d look him up and we’d swap tales over a few beers. So, you can imagine my shock when I saw Lucie post earlier this week that Axel had died. It was a beautiful message as – despite the fact they’d split many years ago, there was obviously still love and affection there.

The four of us had such happy times together back in the 90s and ‘noughties’. But now 50% of us are gone. Time waits for no man (or woman) but that universal truth doesn’t make those losses any easier. I can’t help but reflect on those amazing times and realise just how much I miss the experiences we all shared. Those were special times. Now I’m left with memories and the increasing feeling of ‘Carpe Diem’ as I’m not getting any younger…

So, today’s picture of the day is a reminder of dear Axel – and Lucie. I took this picture in December 1997 at the house they were renting in Arambol. It was a typical night at their place with lots of people, music and alcohol! Happy days…

Sleep easy Axel. See you on the other side…

I’ve a favour to ask…
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