My friend Kevin

My friend Kevin Wilson was one of the good guys. He was a man that I owe a lot to. Unfortunately I will not be able to repay him as he has died suddenly at a tragically young age.

Kevin brought me to the city of Manchester that I'm proud to now call home. He recruited me to work with him on a new corporate finance venture there. The job and the location would change my life. I thanked him by leaving for a new job a few years later. He never held it against me. As I've just changed jobs again, I won't now be passing the Clarence House building we shared an office in as I walk to work. However, every time I do walk past it, Kevin's "head related" comments in the office will pop into my head - "I'm off to squeeze my head" and "I had my head painted again at the weekend" probably need no explanation. His impersonation of the BeeGees will also never be forgotten.

Kevin always looked for a sneaky bargain but was generous to those around him. He would find a way of spending less if it made sense but would be the biggest spender if it helped his family or friends. The former led him to introduce me to "rice & 3" curries in Manchester while we worked for the London based merchant bank, County NatWest. He also took great delight in using the subsidised NatWest canteen around the corner from our office. Cheap deals tickled him despite the up market world he lived in. You can take the poor boy out of Gorton....

His generosity extended to working with The Big Issue in the North as a non executive director where I'm told he added a huge amount to this excellent charity. Kevin had done really well for himself given his background but never forgot how fortunate he was. One reason he did well was because of his search for "the next big idea". As an example, he developed a Chinese based prediction methodology which always sounded like tosh to me. However he launched a book, smartphone app, internet site and computer game using it. He had an entrepreneurial spirit despite what I or anyone else thought of the content.

I benefited from Kevin's generosity in many ways but I'll mention two here.

Firstly, he and his wife Rosemary were generous enough to take a group of family and friends to Their beloved Yvoire on lake Geneva to celebrate their wedding. And this was after having us at their wedding and reception in Bath. This was a truly beautiful trip that was all the more poignant for me as Kevin had previously taken me to Geneva to help run a week long finance course for 10 years. To revisit it as he celebrated his marriage to his true love was unforgettable. I was just pleased we didn't revisit the Nelson bar for a bottle of Satan beer - an 11% proof headache inducing introduction to Geneva I'd had with Kevin on my first Geneva trip with him.

I remember Kevin finding Rosemary again after they had been together at Bradford University many years before. Soulmates reunited and a beautiful happening that changed Kevin's life to the good. It was lovely to see them celebrate their 100th birthday (50 each obviously) together at Bath Racecourse as an early indication of their bond. The night always pops into my head whenever anyone mentions the time England thrashed Germany 5-1 as that was on that very Saturday night.

The second time I benefited in a major way from Kevin's generosity was when I needed to borrow a substantial amount of money for a few days. He and Rose stepped in to help in a trusting, unquestioning way that others would not have. The purchase it facilitated will always remind Serpil and I of Kevin and Rose's kindness. More importantly, the people it benefited will always remember Kevin and Rose even though they've never met.

Kevin was unique amongst my friends as the only one that knew all of my 3 wives. In fact he was my best man for one marriage. In the same way that I saw him struggle with separation and divorce and then find his true love, he saw me do the same and kindly told me that I was doing the right thing when I had my doubts. We even spent some time in Toronto when we were both trying to make sense of personal relationships. The blind leading the bewildered some would say. I'll always regret not going to meet him for a pint when he'd finally left his first wife and wanted a chat. My family commitments were my reason but I regret it nevertheless.

I saw his relationship with his son Doug flourish despite the trials and tribulations of divorce. Kevin's pride in his son was obvious and great to see given the difficulties he had in bringing him into this world. Kevin also used the opportunities he had to show his stepsons, Ben and Nick, that he loved them both too.

Kevin was also the reason I will always favour the sky blue football side of Manchester, but was also the reason I didn't support them. His love for Man City meant he would occasionally take me to Maine Road. The best City experience I had with Kevin though was watching the Gillingham play off final on TV in his house. As I celebrated the astonishing turnaround in the match, Kevin was totally dumbstruck. His disbelief at the unfolding events made the game even more astonishing than it already was.

The negativity of actual visits to Maine Road with Kevin however meant that I ended up taking my son, Fraser, to watch Blackburn instead. Little did I know that Kevin would get the last laugh as supporting Indian owned Rovers would became a much more negative experience than an Arabic bank-rolled City. It seemed right that the day after Kevin died City were battered 4-1. He would have laughed at the throwback to the City performances he knew for so many years.

Kevin was one of those people who would make little or no contact with friends for long periods of time (maybe just me and he was trying to tell me something!). Eventually he would suddenly turn up as if we'd been together just the day before. It's so sad he cannot now do this to me again.

Two things I've learned from the shockingly sad news of Kevin's death:

1. I don't remember telling Kevin I loved him. I hope I did. Tell people you love them before they, or you, are not there. In fact Kevin and I discovered a video of "More than Words" by the band Extreme in a bar in Geneva. It contains the words
"Then you wouldn't
Have to say
That you love me
Cause I'd already know"
I hope it's true.

2. When the good people die too young we should be reminded of the short time we have on this earth. JFDI.

Kevin was a true friend. I will always cherish my memories of him and will really miss him.

RIP my funny, kind, intelligent friend Kevin Wilson, 1951 - 2015.