Aleco Joannides

“Larger than life” and “once met, never forgotten” are apt descriptions of Aleco Joannides [Obituary: Alexandre ‘Aleco’ Joannides]. What I best remember of him is his wicked sense of humour and his ability to see the light at the end of the tunnel where others saw the headlights of an oncoming train. Aleco left cosmopolitan Beirut, reluctantly, for not so cosmopolitan Bahrain not long after I arrived and the large, glass-topped dining table I inherited from him has followed me around the world. It reminds me of good times with a gifted raconteur who had a seemingly inexhaustible fount of anecdotes that entertained and educated. I wish he had put them in a book. ■