Goodbye David Arnold... We Will Miss You

This blogpost is going to be different from many others due to the fact that this is in memory of one of my acting colleagues.

David Arnold was truly one of the nicest men I had ever had the chance to meet. He was just over 2 years older than me and we lived in  the same town and grew up in the same church parish community, he was for a short time at the same Primary school as me and I knew of him. What I didn't know was that like me David had a passion for acting and performing that was very strong. I should probably also explain that David had Downs Syndrome and before I knew him he had been regularly involved with groups that gave people with disabilities training in dance and drama. David was extremely dedicated to his training and whenever he had done something new or learned a new dance step he wanted to talk to LibraryGirl and myself about it and show us. My interaction with David mainly came from rejoining my childhood Amateur drama group: The Pilgrims. It was when I rejoined about 3 years ago that we caught up on all the things that had happened since I had last seen him several years before. He was doing so well and had such a great grasp of life, he wanted to be a good actor and he really made every moment on the stage count. I remember when we would rehearse David would be always coming up with ideas just like me and suggesting them to us to see if they could help us make the shows better. David was really smart and was so bright and he knew when you told him what his role was how exactly he would do it. He really was living proof that having disabilities doesn't stop you from doing what you truly want. I lost touch with David after we left the Pilgrims and I regret that, I was just looking in my mobile address book the other day and his number was there and I thought I should contact him but I didn't. David developed leukemia in the last few months of his life and by all accounts was fighting it with a smile and his usual optimism but just after Easter at the age of 25 David fell asleep and didn't wake up.

I will always remember David for his enthusiasm and smile which was contagious and everytime I look at the top of St Mary's Church Broadwater and see the star I will think about him.

Rest in Peace my friend.