Ren - I've been watching the tangi from my flat in London, gutted that I couldn't make it and heartbroken for you and your whanau. I'll never forget arriving at TCC, stressing out that I'd made a bad choice by leaving HoBec, to find you sitting at the desk in front of me and making me so welcome. An instant mate. During the service I thought that a good way to not feel so far away would be to scroll back to the start of our Messenger thread. It took me a solid ten minutes to make it all the way back to March 2019. True to form, your first messages were inviting me around to party Korowai Street, where "One must byo the beverage of their choosing and a snackeroo" and "positive vibes are also encouraged". In the next round of messages, apparently from the morning after, you apologised for "inappropriate behaviour", saying that you hoped I hadn't been scared off for life. Nothing could have been further from the truth, as evidenced by the novel's worth of back and forth that follow. It's going to take me an age to get through it all, but where I've managed to get up to is bringing back so many awesome memories. Us planning Mauao climbs, yoga, walking Alfie on the beach, F45, going to Rising Tide/wherever else, hot pools, a trip up to your bach, touching base during lockdown, sharing memes and songs. As awful as it is that you're gone, I think going through the rest of this thread will help. One of the things that struck me from your tangi was the cruel irony of your diagnosis given all you've done for others in need. Tales of your humour and positivity hit home when I all of a sudden remembered coming back to work from a check up to find a pill bottle on my desk with a printed label that read "Testicle Fertiliser - take 10mls 3 times a day until you grow a pair." Wednesday was our usual kapa haka practice over here. We ended it with Whakaaria Mai. I have always thought of you when I hear or sing that waiata, and always will. Keeping singing, e hoa. Arohanui.