Hello. My name is JC Lodge-O'Meally. I lived on Argyle Rd, & was a neighbour of Arnold's for several years from 2002-2013. We often had short chats as he passed by doing his regular dog-walking. When he eventually told us that he was leaving Ealing for Durham, I presented him with a personilised mug I'd painted at the local ceramic shop where I worked at the time. He was such an iconic representation of my time spent on Argyle Rd; a cheery, dog-loving, non prejudiced, unmaterialistic, interesting anecdoted & kindly fellow. We were sorry to lose him there.
However, we kept in touch after he moved, & we too moved to Greenford, via cards & letters & the occasional phone call. We looked forward to our annual 'Arnold & the dogs' calendar, & it assured me he was still ticking.
I realised from our last conversations (I believe my last call was when 2019 had just begun) that Arnold had deteriorated quite a bit & wasn't enjoying his life any more, due to constant pain & no longer being mobile. He apologised that he wasn't able to send calenders anymore & I assured him that this was completely understandable, making a mental note to call & check up on him as he didn't seem long for this world.
Regrettably, I didn't call until just now, to hear recordings on both his numbers. This was a sad tip off & suspicions were confirmed when my husband suggested that I google him to check if there was a death notice. Obviously I'm quite late getting this news. I'm sorry that I couldn't, at least, have had my little tribute read at his funeral.
I'd often asked Arnold about his family members, but got the idea that there wasn't a lot of contact. I hope there were some members at his service. I'm sure there would've at least been Durham friends there to wish him farewell.
This is my farewell, on behalf of my husband Errol & daughter Gia, who always remember him fondly.
Thank you for being the gentleman that you were Arnold! God bless you!
JC Lodge-O'Meally
[email protected]JC Lodge-O'Meally
30/12/2019
