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Kevin in London, September 2000 |
Finding the first poem recently spurred me to make this page a reality at last
At last you have departed and gone to the Unseen.
What marvelous route did you take from this world?
Beating your wings and feathers, you broke free from this cage
Rising up to the sky you attained the world of the soul.
You were a prized falcon trapped by an Old Woman.
Then you heard the drummer's call and flew beyond space and time.
As a lovesick nightingale, you flew among the owls.
Then came the scent of the rosegarden and you flew off to meet the Rose.
The wine of this fleeting world caused your head to ache.
Finally you joined the tavern of Eternity.
Like an arrow, you sped from the bow and went straight for the bull's eye
of bliss.
This phantom world gave you false signs
But you turned from the illusion and journeyed to the land of truth.
You are now the Sun - what need have you for a crown?
You have vanished from this world - what need have you to tie your robe?
I've heard that you can barely see your soul.
But why look at all? - yours is now the Soul of Souls!
O heart, what a wonderful bird you are.
Seeking divine heights,
Flapping your wings, you smashed the pointed spears of your enemy.
The flowers flee from Autumn, but not you
You are the fearless rose that grows amidst the freezing wind
Pouring down like the rain of heaven you fell upon the rooftop of this
world.
Then you ran in every direction and escaped through the drain spout . . .
Now the words are over and the pain they bring is gone
Now you have gone to rest in the arms of the Beloved.
If I should die before the rest of you
Break not a flower nor inscribe a stone.
Nor when I'm gone, speak in a Sunday voice
But be your usual selves that I have known.
Weep if you must; parting is hell,
But life goes on, so sing as well
He was taken from us far too soon. I shall miss his
presence on the planet more than I can say. My thoughts and prayers are
with his wife and boys who must be terribly distraught about now. I'm glad
I got to meet him the once. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.
My heart has joined the thousand because my friend stopped running today.
I feel as if I have lost a personal friend. One who touched
me through the medium of television, so that I could see the sweet man and
the kind spirit under the temporary clothing of a Wargod - and others. So
it was no surprise to hear and find out for myself that Kev is a
sweetheart.
I say 'is' deliberately. I don't know if he followed any particular
spiritual path, although I feel that he probably did, it was something he
kept private from 'us'. That's okay; I just wanted to say that Kev's soul,
his spirit, is still alive. In us, when we remember him, and more really
so in the Beyond. He is just beyond our sight, waiting. My mother passed
just last July, and I lost my ex-rugby playing father when I was 11, so I
want you to know I empathise. Parting hurts like hell.
We will miss him here and mourn his passing, but my hope and trust is in
reunion - one day. Somewhere where there is light, love, healing and, in
his case, a good dose of Heavenly rugby and God's own special brew on tap.
And laughter. And song.
I met him briefly at Panathenaea, smiled, laughed, danced and had my
special moments. He smiled that warm, encompassing smile right at me at
close range when I thanked him for having his photo taken with me; when I
got to £85 in bidding for a Xena cap and he informed me I could buy
the whole of South Island for that and offered me the choice! I often
wonder what would have happened if I'd chosen half of New Zealand
instead.....
Do not be surprised if you still hear his voice in your head and maybe
even feel him around you for years to come. Take time to grieve and never
forget that there are probably thousands all around the world hurting with
you and sending you their prayers and sympathy. Kev was deeply loved, and
not just by those of you who had the joy of knowing him personally. If I
could hug you, I would - if that would be welcomed.
I offer this last with my love. Whatever resonates with your spirit,
accept. I would offer sentiments like this to Kevin and now I offer them
to you.
We are travellers on a journey
And companions on the road,
We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load.
I will hold the Christ-light for you,
In the night-time of your fear,
I will hold my hand out to you,
Speak the peace you long to hear.
I will weep when you are weeping,
When you laugh, I'll laugh with you,
I will share your joy and sorrow
TTill we've seen this journey through.
Kevin memories.....
Actually, the first time I saw Kev on screen was in Desperate Remedies. I
remember thinking what a weird, wonderful and crazy movie it was and that
the fella was rather nice looking, apart from that *dreadful* suit and
that was that. Scroll on a couple of years or so to Xena. Ares
materialised in a tent, early season 1 and my reaction was definitely most
hormonal>. Let me say it now, before anyone gets the wrong idea,
whereas Ares is sex on legs, Kev is just....sweet Kev.
Then I'm checking Kev's back catalogue of work one day and 'Good GRIEF!!!
That was *him*!' The characters (and voices) of Ares and Lawrence are so
different, I hadn't spotted the link myself. I could see from pretty early
on that the fella inside all that black leather was a great actor and a
real life sweetheart. He has kind eyes and the right sort of laughter
lines. The lines he made deliberately comic betrayed a lively sense of
humour. I could seperate fact from fantasy pretty easily. I also correctly
identified a pair of rugger players' shoulders. My dad was a (long)
ex-rugger player - and though he wasn't built quite on the same lines -
there's something in the way rugby redesigns your shoulders that is most
distinctive, and in the way you move. Actualy, my son was *born* with the
shoulders, so it was no surprise when he took to football and rugby as to
the manner born.
I've been to most of the Xena cons in Britain - missed one for some
reason which evades me at the moment. So, it was with great pleasure and
anticipation that I and a friend prepared to finally meet Kev in person at
'Panathenaea'. I've said it before and I'll say it again; Kev was (IS!) a
sweetheart. Riotously, breathtakingly funny; sang like an angel (I wish I
could have had just one duet.....) and so generous to the fans. The
'bubble wrap' moment, the 'Sondheim' moment and the 'Aaaaaaargh! Celine
Dion!!!' moment (which really only I witnessed, at close range!) will be
imprinted in my brain until the day I die. He paid a beautiful tribute to
us Brits on NZ television, 'they're more like us (Kiwis)....'. Thank-you,
mate. I hope the beers I gave him survived transit and brought him a
giggle or two when he'd recovered from the jet-lag. I've enjoyed all the
work he's done since, and yes; he had the makings to be up there with the
best. The subtlety and careful facial expression was there in Xena pretty
often, along with the charm and physicality. More so in Channeling Baby,
which has Oscar-quality performances from him and Danielle [Cormack].
I grieve for his loss, his real friends and family who must be prostrate
with grief and what might have been in his professional career. Yet I am
thankful that he arrived on the scene, shared himself and his talent with
us and touched more lives than he perhaps realised with his smile, his
humour, his beautiful singing voice and his just sheer Kev-ness. I wish I
could have known him better.
May he rest in peace and rise in GLORY. Gonna miss you, Kev. You touched
my life and my heart. Cheers, mate.
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