Some of you may have heard this already, but to others it will be sad news. Alex Birch passed away last night in his sleep. While he had been fighting cancer much of the past year, and ill the past few months, his death was unexpected. I still can't believe he's gone. Please put the fragmented nature of what follows down to that rather than any lack of caring.
This morning when I got to work there was an email telling me that the man we know as Alex Birch died last night in hospital in Birmingham. I've been at a total loss as to what to write -- there seems so much to say, so many things that should be said. Alex has been a wonderful friend to both Paul and me for much of the last 13 years. While we'd met (and on a very special day in London played one of the best scenes I will ever do) in person during our visits to the UK over the years and had talked on the phone a good bit in recent months, Alex was first and foremost someone with whom I held long conversations via email.
It was wonderful -- I loved getting mail from him. He was thoughtful and enjoyed writing, always making time for me, but also okay with times when things went silent. "Our Conversation," as we, with some irony, called our mails, could pick up at any time. We talked and argued about politics, the BBC, marriage, our family and friends, life, love, stories and spanking. It always came back to the scene eventually, never in a boring way, but always with an "isn't this fun / interesting" tone.
I've been thinking all day how I'll remember Alex. Always, forever is my first thought. Alex had the all-too-rare ability to argue, be unreasonable and disagree and then to forgive and let the hurt go and still be friends. His heart was large and gentle, his mind quick and witty without ever being cruel. He was also loyal and dependable, always looking for a way to help and work on things that mattered to him, be they politics, the SSC (over and over again for the past 10 years) or his forum, Flaming Cheeks.
Good-bye Alex. I'll unconsciously look for just one more mail from you, every day for the rest of my life. "Our Conversation" brightened my life every time your name showed up in my in-box over the past 13 years.---
UPDATED: Other posts remembering Alex Birch can be found on Natty's blog, Spanking Writers and All Things Spanking. A good number (150+) of his stories are archived at Spanking Library (a free membership site). There are also some on the soc.sexuality.spanking site and on the free membership forum Alex ran, Flaming Cheeks.
