We’d like to say a huge thank you to the big crowd who turned out to say goodbye to Martin, The Cart’s co-founder and much-loved friend of so many Hanoi expats and locals alike.
Martin passed away on Christmas Day.
The evening managed to be both emotional and yet a genuinely celebratory goodbye.
Thank-you to KOTO for hosting and, in particular, the wonderful restaurant and bar staff and trainees who looked after us so well.
Thank you to Cynthia for helping to organise. Thank you too to Miss Thao who paid an emotional tribute to KOTO’s “Uncle Martin”.
And also a big thank you to “the other Martin” who turned up with members of Martin’s football team complete with a football shirt signed and framed in his honour. We will find a suitable home for it.
More thank-yous: Thanks to The Cart staff who game their time to attend, thank-you to all who provided words and pictures for the book that will be sent to Martin’s family.
Finally thank you again to everyone who turned out – Martin’s friends, The Cart customers, KOTO staff and former trainees. It was a very special evening.
The film from the event is above. If you click on it then it is possible to download it from the Vimeo site.
The words from Steve’s speech can be downloaded here.
Thank you! My heart is broken too! Rest in peace Martin.
Tuyet
Here’s a poem Martin shared to me:
FRIENDS
Friends and eternal warmth——laid bare,raw and exposed
miles of maturity–layers of overlapping complexity
and more warmth and more fun…
you are irreplacable—we are connected
you are my beating heart, my bleating heart
my soul on fire
my propulsion forward
reliable and steadfast
a rock of consistency
you made me–i made you
i love you then now and forever.
What a beautiful tribute to Martins life in Vietnam, we were lucky to have him home for his final journey but we knew his heart was in Hanoi, we will miss him more than words can say but our lives are richer for having him as part of it, we always thought we would grow old together. We will always love you Martin XX
i am absolutely gutted about this,l lost contact with `smartmart`or satch as i new him, he came back to england on two occassions and missed his 2 calls.i`ve been trying for ages to find him,or rick on friends and facebook but with no success. just noticed a mention in coventry family notices on feb 9 from his mum,chris and jill.
what a smashing lad he was,not a bad bone in his body,known him since junior school,and i feel very proud of him reading what he`s done in vietnam,thats the kind of lad he was.would love to hear off anyone who new him.
i just cant believe it…me,satch and rick at the cov games `HOOF`! RIP MATE !!!
Another Friday morning with a Tiger head and aches and pains from Thursday night football. I keep expecting to see Martin spinning on a sixpence and tucking one away in the top corner but then again that was only in his dreams. I got to know him over a year and will miss him for years to come. RIP