Alex Moir: 1976–2024

I want to pay tribute to a man who forever changed my perspective on life.

On Alex’s 47th birthday, he received the news that he had cancer. When he got the call, he’d just stepped off a rollercoaster in Margate with his four children, of all places.

The diagnosis was terminal. He’d had it for 18 months and didn't even know. It had spread all over his body.

It was only by chance that they found cancer by removing a spot from his scalp. He was bald, so it could’ve gone undetected for longer with a full head of hair.

During those 18 months, Alex felt as fit as a fiddle. He continued to work as a primary school headmaster and be physically active.

Whenever I called him to ask how he was, he’d joke: "Well, I’m alive!"

I’d say: "Speak soon".

He’d quip back: "Unless I’ve kicked the bucket".

In one of his many social media posts chronicling his journey, Alex said:

"It’s a beautiful world of love and brilliance if you take the time to look and take a little longer still to really see how amazing it all is. It's tough to leave and you want to hold on a bit more and embrace that incredible scenery a while more.

"The truth is there is a third reason. Fear. Up I'm scared to give up. Scared to walk away. Scared to say goodbye and too scared, still too scared, to let go. Scared of the thing none of us want to say. Death.

That's not bravery, it's the opposite. A stronger man would have the bravery to say they can accept that the time has come (or at least getting close). I hope I will find that strength and serenity and inner peace in the weeks and months ahead".

Hept his dry sense of humour even in his final few hours. I asked him if he could take a call, and he said: "Sorry, mate. No can do. Officially dying".

I would've rolled over and died the day of that phone call. But not Alex.

“I’ll keep running until the road runs out”, he said.

He was determined to live as long as possible, not just to stay alive. He managed to squeeze out another 9 months.

You could receive that cancer diagnosis phone call tomorrow, so do what makes you happy and take chances in life.

Alex made me realise that life really is beautiful – even through hard times. Every day is a gift.

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