I will always remember Menos for many reasons. Some being his incredible cooking - I've yet to meet anyone who can make a carbonara quite like him – his kindness, his absolutely wonderful laugh that made everyone else in the room smile, his love for all that was rock n roll (throughout my emo phase as a teenager, Menos never made fun of my terrible racoon eyeliner) and mainly his ability to make absolutely anyone feel special who came in to his life.

Though I had not seen Menos for many years, I have always held Menos in very high regard. He was the father of a very dear friend of mine, his daughter Charis, who has inherited her dad’s ability to befriend anyone and make them feel genuinely included. Charis was my first real friend when myself and my family emigrated to the UK from South Africa in 2004 and through our friendship, Menos and his wife Hilary became very prominent figures in my life as I would spend days at a time at their home, which they always welcomed me into. I have fond memories of us playing in the frog pond or hidden away in Charis’ room whilst we were glued to the PC screen playing The Sims together - those walkie talkies were a great investment as Menos or Hilary would summon us down for dinner! Menos would always be taking up a new hobby, I remember him learning how to play guitar and rocking out to Green Day with Charis and I, or rocking out in the car to whichever new rock album we got our hands on. My parents and I also enjoyed a very memorable holiday together in Paros with Menos, Hilary and Charis many years ago which I will always remember.  Menos was one of those rare down to earth people, and radiated such warmth to those around him. You would always be happy in his presence and I am very grateful to have known Menos for he encompassed everything that a good person could hope to be. He was undeniably generous, compassionately caring and unapologetically himself, and boy, could he make you laugh with his wicked sense of humour! 

Fly high Menos, your star will always shine brightly. Thank you for everything you did for me and my family. Inshallah.