[Silly Moustache]

I have no friends from my school days.

From '73 to '93, I worked for a multinational, and moved around a fair bit, but only have one or two friends from those days - I lost a lot of friendships when I walked out in '93. One has stayed fairly close and we keep in touch. We got to know each other, not directly through work but when I started up the company Photographic society. (My other life)! He's also a jazz guitarist, so apart from being within ten days - the same age, we have both photography and music in common. He was very supportive during my illness.

In some pub, in the late '60s, I was sitting alone watching a great British blues player called Jo-Anne Kelly. She asked for someone in the audience to back her on her 12 styring as she payed some stuff on her National. I stood up. I played with the great Jo-Anne.

Then there was a break, and I found myself at the stall next to the guy I had been sitting next to. He congratulated me on my playing and we became good friends up until 2004. We had spent many Friday/Saturday nights playing the blues. (He loved guitars even more than me), and we went to folk festivals together.
In 2004 I was going to drive through Texas and rang him to ask him if he wanted me to pick up anything while I was there. He was extraordinarily happy, and told me that he'd finally sold his business and would be a millionaire by the time I returned.

We rejoiced as we always spoke of our retirement years when we could sit and drink and buy/sell guitars etc.

When I got back there was a letter from him, asking me to come up ASAP to value all his instruments and to supervise the sale of them all to get the best for his wife.

I rang him to be told that a week after his company sale he was told he had cancer, and had decided not to undergo delaying treatment.

He died a month later, and his wife wouldn't let me near his guitars.
I'm still angry with him for dying.

I guess my oldest friend is Mando Bob. We irritate the hell out of each other, but we still play together.