It Truly Is The End of An Era

So I have been keeping in touch with Brian on and off since this whole Covid19 thing has happened - fortunately he was home on break when the borders were closed, and he has not been able to get back to work in Saudi since. Malaysia being Malaysia, well one is not always sure how things are going to pan out, and even though they had the army on the streets for quite some time, and very, very strict with lockdown, it is still probably not the best place to be in such uncertain times. Well, at least unless you have a very solid financial base.

So today I messaged him as I do every month or two, and was quite shocked to find out that in a month, they are gone. He is moving his family to Ailish's home town in Ireland. This was always their eventual plan, but I guess I was used to him being a part of the furniture in KL, and was relishing the idea of going for a visit to catch up one of these days. But I think his logic about moving while there is nothing else going on and borders are closed is sound, it's just that I won't get the chance to go see him before he leaves. Further to that, Kosta is also leaving in August - he has been a real KL mainstay, I think he's been there about 20 years. A huge part of his life.

So in terms of expats moving on, well that leaves only Peter - to my knowledge. I'll rattle his cage sometime too and see what he's up to. He does have a young family, but I am pretty sure he's made KL his permanent base. I hope so anyway - I'd be spewing if there was nobody left to have a beer with when, and if I make it back over there. Not that life is dwindling by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't want to be too much older before I go back.

Still, I'll always have my baby with me, and we always enjoy our times out and about. And frankly I spent a whole lot of time on my own over there too. So if I do make it back sometime, and need to go explore some old haunts all by myself. Well, we can do that.

I guess in some subconscious way, having a number of the old crew still in KL gave me a tenuous link back to the expat days of yore, and even though I have no intention of reprising those days for myself (likely just not on the cards anyway), having it still being a possibility was a nice, warm, nostalgic feeling.

The other thing is, well I don't know when I'll see Brian again. Hey we don't see a lot of each other now either, but him being in Ireland, well it makes it less likely I suppose. That makes me a little sad. We'll always keep in touch, and I'll always fondly remember out great chats. I just miss being able to crank up WhatsApp and send a message - "meet you at Green Man tomorrow at 2pm" or something along those lines.

Take care old mate, I hope we meet again.