Tributes from Robyn and Helen

I met my dear friend David Bloom through my family over thirty years ago and I have so many wonderful memories , stories, laughs & travels that we shared together. His wicked sense of humour and wry life observations were part of his DNA.

David was a very loyal & caring friend and enjoyed life to the fullest. He had 3 great passions in his life. Food  (cooking & eating ) classical music, & French language & cuisine. He was the most animated when  being involved with , & talking about them. He was a great host along with Ross & loved to entertain & cook up a feast for his friends with a good bottle of red wine & a magnificent cake that he would whip up with great  gusto & delight!  He also used to make the most mouth- watering  chocolate truffles that would  be there to tempt you when he lived in Richmond.

A more recent love was his vegetable & herb garden in Olinda, and David would eagerly give a detailed progress  report on each plant & its cooking potential.  He had no  flair for gardening or keeping plants alive until his  loving partner Ross came on the scene!! Then there was no stopping him, day in, day out.

This beautiful concert & program today is a tribute to our very dear & special friend David, whom  many of us came to know, love  & treasure over many years, &  today we  honour his many eclectic interests ,  particularly his great love of music & working as a  dedicated piano tuner across Melbourne. We will always remember our dear friend David & have a smile on our faces when we reminisce about our  unique time spent with him.

  He is always in our hearts & greatly missed.

Robyn Arya

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Dear David... what a wonderful friend! Our friendship goes back a long way with many cherished memories. I’ll share some of them including when I briefly rented a room in his house in Richmond about 25 years ago.

David’s house in Richmond...There were so many pianos in David’s house that I lost count, but there was nothing like listening to beautiful classical music being played on ‘The Grand,’ as you drifted off to sleep at night. David’s newly painted and restored harpsichord was his pride and joy at that time. There was also the old gramophone which he loved and used to wind up to play his 78 records on. The 3rd bedroom of the house was the chocolate room. This room had trays and trays of the most delicious truffle chocolates. It was hard to resist sneaking into the room and giving my visitors a sample.

David’s love of food and cooking... I rarely cooked when I lived with him, but sat down to gourmet dishes. To tell you the truth, I was too nervous to cook for him. Years later when I had Ross and David over for dinner once, David thought he was eating Japanese and I told him it was Thai curry! It must have been soon after I’d come back from Japan! David introduced me to many foods I’d never tried before, blue vein cheese being one of my favourites. I’ll never forget... one day... after I had cleaned the toilet... he told me that it was so clean, he could eat o ff it! Now that’s saying something from the ‘Master Chef’ himself! I loved his quirky sense of humour. No one has ever said that about my toilet cleaning and I can’t imagine anyone else ever will!!!

A few other funny memories that spring to mind of those days in 10 Queen St....asking him to not answer the door to my visitors wearing his underpants at the height of Summer! ...coming home after a month away on holidays to find that David had accidently sprayed my pot plants with weed killer instead of watering them! His interest in gardening certainly changed when Ross came into his life.

There was also David’s love of languages. Every now and then he’d correct me,” No darling. It’s the past present perfect not the past participle” and looked at me in horror wondering how I ever taught English. He was so precise, that I wished he was a fly on the wall helping me explain some crazy grammatical feature of the English language in the classroom.

David...a warm, caring, generous friend, always interested in what was happening in my life. You listened attentively, even when I rambled on and on and on. I admired the way you honestly and bluntly said what you thought. When we caught up there was always a great big hug, followed by lots of laughter and conversations that flowed from one topic to the next for hours on end. Your home in Olinda was like a second home for me. Both you and Ross always made me feel so welcome that it was hard to leave.

The last time I was with David I was picking blueberries in the garden. He came over in his electric wheelchair and gestured something, waving his arms. I couldn’t understand, so he got out his communication board and spelt out “Only pick the dark ones!!!” I laughed. He smiled. Even with that horrendous, debilitating disease, David’s cheeky personality shone through.

David, you were so lucky you met Ross and were truly loved by him and many people and we miss you dearly.

Love Helenka xx