Bat's Memorial

Last night, a memorial was held for Bat in the back yard of his house in Texas. It was live-streamed for those of us unable to be there in person. It started at midnight UK time, but didn't really kick off until Bat's ashes arrived. For some reason, and in very Bat-like fashion, they were three hours late.

While we waited, cosmolinguist and I were chatting to various friends-of-Bat on Discord, swapping selfies and pictures of our pets, as well as memories, jokes and stories. Someone contributed a poem to the Discord which was later read out to the in-person gathering. We had a few drinks, watched people meandering around on the live stream (but couldn't really hear anything.

It was 3am by the time people started talking over the PA system, telling stories, memories, poems etc. The stories were pretty much what you'd expect of Bat - drunken shenanigans, combined with a kindness and love for everyone he knew. He loved us, and he helped us love ourselves better. Many people attending were his found family, a lot of them rejected queer kids whom he adopted and looked after.

We tapped out about 4am, unable to stay awake any longer, but it was a lovely commemoration. Apparently after we signed off, someone read out E's wonderful poem, which he'd shared with everyone on Discord earlier.