Aleco Joannides

I should like to add a last memory to my obit of Aleco on The Baron [Obituary: Alexandre ‘Aleco’ Joannides]. A few days before he died, I visited him at the hospital in Battersea where he was due to spend three weeks of respite care. 

He was sitting up in an armchair beside his bed in a private room. He looked frail, lost in his thoughts, but he immediately brightened up, welcomed me with characteristic charm and courtesy, and asked: “So, what about the Reuter Society, how is it doing?” 

I told him the Society was in fine shape, gave him some news of meetings and our recent dinner in Paris, and conveyed the best wishes of the Committee to our Founding Father. “Excellent, my dear, excellent!” he said. He talked a little, mainly about the Society.

Our meeting lasted scarcely 15 minutes before his energy began to flag, but it was enough to enjoy a flash of the old Aleco enthusiasm. He was clearly proud of his achievement in starting the Society, and rightly so.

Thank you, Aleco, for a great legacy. ■