I met Mel in Sri Lanka in January 2009 for the wedding of Chandra and Nedra’s daughter. Since then, Mel, Nedra, Joan and I have met a couple of times a year as a group, last meeting in December 2019 for our annual Christmas lunch. Mel was a kind and caring man with a passion for the theatre and cinema. I always enjoyed hearing of his visits particularly to the Chichester Festival Theatre. It is hard to believe that we will not see Mel again. I will miss him. Diane