This is my eulogy that I prepared for Matt's funeral:
Matt was not just my loyal friend, he was like my younger brother. During the last 17 years we've shared many experiences. I can go on for hours talking about the kind of person how was but, everyone who came across him could tell in an instance that he had an infectious personality that put you at ease. He always wanted to how I was, always ready to listen to my problems either personal or work related. He was a person who I could share anything with- knowing it would remain with us. People say I was his mentor- the master and his student especially when it came to the women 🤣 but undoubtedly he was the good looking one who didn't need me to show him anything! Matt always saw the good in people, he was always concerned about their welfare, even when they let him down. I have fond and wonderful memories of my friend, in all our years of friendship i can't remember 1 disagreement, he always had a knack of calming me down just by putting an arm around me, smile and laugh. He'd always greet me with a big and ask if I was ok. I can keep talking about our memories together but that would take lots and lots of time. I remember one of the funniest times I had with him was during one of our Christmas meals, Matt insisted on going for a curry with the team, I agreed if only Matt (who used to brag about being able to eat hot curries) matched what I had. It was funny sitting there watching him sweat after a few minutes, he was soon looking for the waiter for a jug of water. I recommended him to have cobra instead, he asked if that'd cool him down, jokingly I said yes knowing that it would elevate the heat of the curry. He spent rest of the night like he had ants in his pants - he never forgot that moment and he continued to remind me in a jovial manner every so often! Matt was always lucky at the races, id always look at the form of each race - he'd just pick out familiar names. A few years ago we went to Cheltenham and I studied the form as usual, Matt won big on 1 race and I asked what made him choose that horse and he said his family dog was named the same, the same horse ran a few weeks later so I decided to back it, think it's still running now!! I wish I had one last time with him, to tell him how much he meant to us People say time heals all wounds, but today I can tell you that's not true. Till today, I feel the same pain in my heart that I felt that Sunday afternoon. I thank you Matt for every minute of those years of friendship we had. Thank you for everything you did for me. I want you to know my friend that being your friend has been a honour and privilege. God bless till we meet again mate