From Declan

I was looking at the blog the other day and stumbled upon some photos of smily Max. For the first time in a while I felt good at looking at pictures of Max. It was like seeing an old friend again; an old friend who always looked happy and seemed content. When I first heard of Max's passing I don't know why but I looked at my phone and saw his name and number in my phonebook, and remembered that about just six weeks previously he had phoned me ... this had become my memory of Max almost ... I couldn't delete the number then and still can't. Looking at the blog the other day and reading some of the messages made me see how Max is remembered and lives on. His friendliness and happy go lucky nature will always live on through those that knew him and that is special. My friendship with Max definitely matured with age. I remember being about 13 and playing football in The Moberly with him...we were on opposing sides and were both trying to beat as many players as we could when we had the ball and when we didn't we would almost hack each other off the ball; all very serious stuff at that age. The Easter before last, nearly 10 years later, we were playing football in the park and both barged into each other and laughed ... we'd grown up (probably I had more of the growing up to do than Max). That moment meant a lot to me and still does. Although there are times that I get sad about Max's passing and consequences, e.g. him not having a son who would've been a class footballer and Max the best teacher football-wise a kid could have, I am so happy to have known Max and been able to call him a friend, and have been part of his life in which he made everyone he met feel good. Rest in peace mate. Declan