Nice tribute from a guy on Strava:
10 And A Vignette For Ed (requiescat in pace):
The Greatest Of All Time
Murmurs and the chink of china teacups on saucers carry from the kitchen. I stroll in. Four cups of tea are placed on the table. Next to each cup, two slices of toast - smothered in lashings of butter - wait on our best china plates.
‘What’s this?’ I ask my father. ‘I thought we were having beef stew.’
‘Call your mother and sister and tell them their dinner’s ready,’ he says, wiping his face as he sits down to the table. ‘I hope I’ve done the toast right.’
‘Have you been crying?’ I ask, sitting down next to him. ‘You don’t cry.’
‘Ed died today,’ he says slurping his tea.
‘Who’s Ed?'
‘I can’t believe he died; just like that.’ He takes a bite from his toast. Butter and crumbs cling to his lips. ‘I can see him now, smiling; his singlet hanging off his shoulder and his long white hair swirling in the wind.’
‘Oh, him, ‘ I say, dunking a torn triangle of toast in my tea. ‘Did he die running around the cemetery?’
‘What?’
‘You know, did he die running around the graves?’
He stares at me. Through me.
‘Yes.’ A smile breaks across his face. ‘Yes, he did. He’d just finished his run and he sat on a bench to look at a flower. He closed his eyes and then, gently and beautifully, he took his last breath.’