Dear Ramesh,
Just a few words to express my deepest sympathy to you and your
family at Ali's passing.
I am a member of the Wimbledon Light Opera Society and performed with
Ali in Babes in Toyland, My Fair Lady and Dad's Army. In fact, along
with Emma Pearson, Ali was the very first WLOS member I met when I
turned up for my first rehearsal of Babes in Toyland in June 2009.
His warm welcome within seconds of my walking through the door at
Lingfield Hall certainly helped me feel that I'd come to join the
right group.
Ali was a lovely guy, so gentle of nature and never had a bad word to
say about anyone. He was a great actor and created some very special
on stage moments. He made me laugh every time he appeared in his
night gown and night cap as 'angry man' in Wiv' a Little Bit o' Luck
in My Fair Lady and he was perfect for the role of Pike in Dad's Army.
If I close my eyes, I can clearly hear him saying 'It's ever so
wobbly' and 'I got a note from the doctor' as he is hassled up the
ladder by Captain Mainwaring.
WLOS is quite a close-knit group and we all feel as though we've lost
such an important member and friend. This week, the hall was very
busy on Tuesday evening. Many people who were not called to rehearsal
or who are not even in the current show dropped in. I think they
probably felt as I did, a quiet need to be with other WLOS people at
this incredibly sad time.
I will miss Ali, his team spirit, his enthusiasm, his gentleness. And
I will miss our post-rehearsal chats about the conflicting fortunes
of Arsenal, Norwich and Hull City FC.
With very best wishes to you all,
Jason
