Malcolm Wotton - Celebration Of A Life

I wrote last month about Malcolm's cycling accident. He never regained full consciousness, and he died two weeks ago while I was in Prague. The funeral was yesterday. It was a very emotional occasion for everyone involved, but we all took a lead from his partner, Janice.

She wanted the day to be a celebration of Malcolm's life, rather than a mourning of his death. We were all encouraged to wear bright clothes rather than sombre ones, and the tributes and readings were a celebration of life, too.

I knew Malcolm for about ten years, and he was a remarkable man. He was intelligent, sporty, witty, caring, popular and interested in almost every subject one could think of. Malcolm gave all that he could in everything that he did. He lived life on his own terms to a greater degree than anyone else I know.

Malcolm managed to structure his career to give him what I regard as the ideal balance between work and life. He would take on IT work in intensive bursts which he would complete at full effort, then he would take some time to pursue other things. He lived fairly modestly from day to day, but was always able to enjoy himself when travelling, and always managed to keep adding to his collection of cool gadgets.

Sue and I didn't see Malcolm and Janice on a daily basis since we moved away from the North-West London area over ten years ago, but we did see them for weekends and short holidays. These trips usually involved cycling, and always involved nice meals, good beer and wine, and the occasional single-malt whisky. I will cherish all of the times the four of us spent together. The week we spent in a cottage in Bowmore visiting the Islay Whisky Festival is one I will particularly cherish.

I feel Malcolm's loss most keenly now that I too have given up the daily office routine for a less-structured career. I always imagined that in my new life Malcolm and I would have times when we weren't busy working and could do interesting things together. I also hoped that I would be able to get his guidance on making the freelance life work.

On Tuesday night, after we had returned from the funeral, Sue and I poured ourselves a dram of Ardbeg and toasted his memory.

There's no-one else like Malcolm, I'll never forget him, and I want to get as much out of my life has he did from his.