Funeral

We met at cubs when we were eight. Then we were in the same class at secondary school. We weren't just school friends, we were lifelong friends who met at school. He came and stayed with me or we'd meet in London and visit art exhibitions. When I was in Manchester we'd get together 
for a chat and a drink. My mum adored Roly and would always ask after him, even towards the end of her life when she was very ill. The last years of his life were stolen by multiple sclerosis but the staff at his nursing home told tales of races in his electric wheelchair.
He was a proud Mancunian, City shirt on his coffin and Blue Moon at the church. We stood together on the Kippax and he never lost the faith. 
Good to meet up with old friends but he leaves an enormous gap in my world and that of many others.