Remembering Andy

I didn't know Andy very well.
I'd seen him around, busking outside HSBC, or walking his spaniel Hector, or in Kilvert's with Briar. He always seemed to be cheerful and friendly. Just recently, I heard that he'd been diagnosed with cancer, and just a few days ago, he died. He was only about fifty.
The Open Mic Night at Kilvert's this Tuesday was in his honour, and it was a packed house. Kilvert's had laid on free pizza, and when Briar took the microphone to say a few words, she said that she couldn't see anyone in the room who wasn't there because of Andy. Then she handed the microphone over to a very special guest, Andy's brother Keith, who'd come all the way from Australia. He said that Andy had always been the odd one out in the family, but looking around, he could see that Andy had found a new family in Hay. He'd brought his cornet with him, and played beautifully.
We left the pub at about half past eleven, and there was still singing going on - I'm not sure how long they carried on for.

The funeral was the following day, with drinks and buffet at Kilvert's afterwards. It was at Hereford Crematorium, so I just went down to the pub. The floral tributes filled one long table, from a bunch of daffodils tied up with a black ribbon to great cartwheel wreaths.