The Art of Travel

A few years ago my roommate lent me her dad’s copy of Essays in Love, the first novel of the pop-philosopher turned entrepreneur, Alain de Botton. It was the first work of fiction that I mentally consumed after what I can only reasonably describe as an unplanned hiatus from reading for pleasure. I read it in less than a week on my commute to and from work on the tube. One morning, standing on the periphery of a socially constructed circle of loud American tourists, I chuckled so audibly that one of them turned to me and asked jovially, ‘Is it a good read?’

Euphonious - Macmillan Cancer Support Fundraiser

In the morning of May 4th of this year, my father passed away after battling Colon Cancer at the age of 49, just a shy month before celebrating his 50th. His death was not only a big loss to my family and I, but also our extended family, his friends, his colleagues and his community. He was a very popular individual, with around 700 people attending the funeral, and so many other people showing their love and support over the grieving period.

However, I still hadn’t felt as if I had given him my personal send off.