It was always a pleasure

By David Wilson

Max was the first person that I had met, from what was then the ‘first year’ of Hampstead School.

I was in the ‘third year’ and it must be about 13 years ago now.

Us Third years were playing a hell of a lot of football back then. Pretty much every day and night we would play in either the front and back cages of school, UCS Fields, Fortune Green, Aylstone and not forgetting Queens Park.

We considered ourselves to be pretty good.

I remember Max hanging around the front cage at school and watching us play. He was wearing a spurs shirt on the day he came up to me during a game and asked with a knowing grin if he could play.

He played from then on.

I remember thinking to myself that if this little cheeky eleven year old kept doing what he was doing, with our football, to the kids in my year and the years above who were also playing, he might start taking a few knocks here and there from some of the more bad tempered, less skilful and very frustrated older kids, and sure enough he did take quite a few knocks. But Max just kept on playing through all the hits that were thrown at him and by the end of that game he’d won over pretty much everyone on the pitch in that front cage. Not just because of his footballing talents but also because of his smiling attitude. The next time we all played people were arguing about whose team he should be on, a pattern, which would continue for years to come. I obviously tried to claim him as my discovery therefore having to play on my team from then on. I used the ‘we’re both Tottenham fans’ angle and it was from then on that we became friends.

Over the years I’ve only got happy memories when I think of ‘Max O’the day’ as he became known on the Queens Park circuit. Whether he was running around the park, sweating like mad and rolling around on the grass after a tackle with his arms in the air. Or, whether he’d be running around a party, sweating like mad and rolling around on someone’s sofa with his arms in the air, he would always seem to be having good time with a smile on his face which made him a person that always brought a smile to mine. I feel proud to have known such a happy, smart, talented, funny and witty person who enjoyed his life to the fullest. An example to us all. It was through Max, and over the years, that I got to know Owen, Ize, Louis, Dash, Rosie, Anna, Ellie and more. A truly lovely group of people. My Love and thoughts are with you all. I know how close you all were and how close you still are.

Max was the person who told me that Anna loved me before she did. ‘Dave man, seriously, I know, trust me’ were more or less his words. When I used to live at 115 Chevening Rd, Max would come over for a cup of herbal tea from time to time and we’d listen to music and discuss the trials and tribulations of being with Rosie and Anna and having girlfriends who are best friends (sorry girls, but we did). We spoke about how they must constantly talk about us, tell each other everything and know a lot more about us then they let on. After 4 or 5 times of doing this we realised the irony in what we were doing and thought it best to stick to spurs, music and party conversation. Little did we know at the time that we’d both be living in Spain in the coming years. I’d been speaking to Max briefly via email since Christmas trying to arrange either a break for us down in Cadiz/Tarifa with him, or up here in Barcelona where I live, and was looking forward to doing either one. I’ve also been receiving the odd random email in Max’s very excited best Spanglish that were usually sent well after midnight. Typical Max. I wish I’d kept them.

The last time I actually saw Max was before Christmas. We were both outside the Salisbury pub and both leaving to go back to Spain in the next couple of days. We had a pint and a nice conversation about life/football/Spain when all of a sudden max jumped up and said, ‘Shit, I’ve got to meet this girl in five minutes at Queens Park station. She’s so pretty and nice. She doesn’t know the area very well, but I’m not gonna bring her to the pub man, she’s too nice for that, really nice!’ We said our goodbyes, arranged to try and meet in Spain in the New Year at some point, and off he went. About half an hour passed when Max came strolling back down to the Salisbury, shivering from waiting in the cold weather for the last 30 minutes with a big smile on his face. He walked straight passed me to the bar got himself a pint came and sat down next to me and said with a big grin ‘she probably wouldn’t have been that nice anyway’ and just joined straight back into the conversation with a positive ‘so whats next?’ type of attitude. He had me in stitches.

From the small boy who I met at school all those years ago to the young man who always liked to remind me of how tall he’d become. From years of watching bewildered as to how he does what he does with a football and then denying you saw anything when asked later at the pub or at a party (unwritten Queens Park rules). From his silly jokes to witty comebacks. From the conversations we had about girlfriends to the conversations we had about music or just life in general. To loose someone of his calibre is as tragic as gets. A True loss.

He touched so many people’s lives and will continue to do so. Even though he will be sorely missed his memory will live on in all of us and our thoughts our with his family and closest friends.

Lots of love, Dave Wilson (one of the younger older lot)