Take a bow

I got to work today to discover that a good friend and colleague from my Kinleith days died overnight - the second Kinleith friend to die in a week (the first was one of our electricians, also a friend). Added to the death of my uncle on Good Friday and it's getting somewhat painful. 

I don't have any real words to say, only loss and empathy for his family and other friends. He was an archer, a passionate medieval re-enactor, a larger-than-life person with whom I shared many long and cheerful chats, recipes, and fun. I helped co-ordinate his rehab when he cut his hand at work just after I started at Kinleith in 2012 and we became good friends through that process. It is partly his influence that meant I took up archery, even though I opted for all the mod cons on my compound bow rather than a bare medieval longbow. 

We went to the Taupo Medieval Faire that he started last year and grew to very impressive and entertaining proportions this year. We had a good chat there and he showed our daughter his dagger and sword - she was suitably impressed (so was I!). The crazy thing is that I never saw him shoot, even though he was mad keen on his longbow. He made all his own arrows and equipment - he was amazingly clever with his hands and loved making stuff - and he was a very gifted cook. His medieval recipes used to make me hungry just listening....

I will miss him. It's hard to imagine Kinleith without him. May he rest in peace and rise in glory - with his bow to hand.