Albert the painter/decorator

When i was a young teen my dad decided to have the house re-done. He had a new kitchen extension built, new units installed, new carpets laid, new everything. We saw lots of builders come and go in those hectic months, but no one left a lasting impression more than a young half-caste chap, in his early to mid-20s at that time, named Albert who my dad hired to do the painting and decorating, and its about Albert that i wanted to say a few words.

In our entire lives, myself and my family never met a more decent, hard-working and likeable person than this man. His work was of excellent quality - even around 15 years later, the parts of the house which he painted or wallpapered still look new. But it was his decent nature and easy-going character that we loved the most. I wanted to share three memories of him

1) Albert was a Wing Chun expert and he showed us some photos of him doing some flying kicks. He used to tell me that when he was a kid he would dig a deep hole in the ground and then practise jumping out of it as a form of training for his Wing Chun.

2) We used to trust Albert so much, we gave him a set of our house keys. He would come early in the morning, and if there were signs that no one in the house was awake, he would go to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea, then put his headphones on and quietly start working.

3) Some nights he used to work late so he would join my family for dinner before heading home (though he was already married at the time) and one night my mum had made kofte (meatball curry) with pilau rice. Now, usually, you eat 2 or 3 kofte with your meal (or perhaps 4 if you are super-duper hungry). When Albert got the dish he took about SEVEN! haha. I still remember my brothers and me giggling quietly when we saw his plate loaded with meatballs.

My family have come close to making du'a that Allah makes our path and Albert's path cross again; everytime someone brings up his name in conversation it brings a smile to everyone's face and a yearning in the heart to meet him again. Now, i know that from time to time you hear of a story of long lost friends who have found each other through the internet, and i'm not really holding out too much hope that he'll end up reading this entry. But if someone - by chance - happens to know this Albert, please put us in touch :)