Franco was my oldest friend. I'm English and part of my training for the insurance industry was to spend a few months in Milan in the early 1960s, learning the language and then about insurance practice in what was for me a new and strange country. Franco was in the marine department, what in the USA I suppose would be called the transport department, of one of Britain's best known insurance companies and he was kind and helpful from the day I arrived - even trying in vain to teach me the wonders of chess. I moved on to live and work in other countries, but in early 1966 - the last of five years training outside my native England, and before spending the rest of the year working on Wall Street - I returned to Milan to polish my Italian and gain more experience. Franco by then was married and had become head of his department. Our friendship continued as if we had never been apart and we kept in touch after I returned to live and work in London at the end of 1966.

But Italy had got her hooks into me and in 1970 I accepted the offer from Franco's boss to return to Milan and be his personal assistant. So now Franco (known around the office affectionately as "BOL") at last became a colleague and with my particular interest in his department, we spent a great deal of time together, both in the office and travelling around Italy.

All good things come to an end and in 1975 I resigned and returned to work in London. The changes within the company that had led to my departure also had Franco quitting soon after and saw him turn his skills, considerable experience and contacts to good use as a marine insurance broker.

But Italy still held an unstoppable magnetic attraction for me and in 1978 I accepted an exciting new position as insurance manager for a leading Italian shipowner. Who else to call in as an insurance broker, specialised in the transport sector, than Franco?!   But I had a problem. Ethics required that I not favour any outside firm or individual and I already had two very tough lady assistants whose task it was to select brokers and give them what work they saw fit. So as their new boss the most I could do was to introduce them to Franco one day and suggest they try him out for service and product: but I stressed that they were under no obligation to use him and should not be influenced by the fact that he was my friend. They naturally had their established contacts and I feared the worst for Franco's chances in breaking into this important and growing account.

It took only a couple of weeks for my two lady assistants to knock on my door and ask for a meeting. "It's about that broker Franco..." "Yes" I replied, somewhat concerned and fearful of having to tell Franco that he could not expect any work from us. "Well..." they both went on, as my anxiety inceased. "He's incredible! The best service we have ever experienced! Great rates of premium and coverage and amazing service over claims! Can we start giving him more work?"

Well, all that's history now and I am just so happy that in some way - and with a lot of good luck thrown in - I was able to help Franco achieve the success and appreciation he so deserved.

I'm no smoker and do not own a single pipe. But Franco's love for them was so clear, deep and genuine. So when he asked me to give a hand with his English on his Website I may have pulled a face, but was only too happy to help. I kept telling him that his English was quite good enough and, anyway, everyone knew he was Italian, so why worry about his English sounding a bit Italian?

We kept in touch after I had to move to live in Australia after my wife was struck down by a terrible cancer (multiple myeloma) in June 2002. Despite our condition (I also have a cancer, but not so debilitating as my wife's) we have managed to get back to Milan at least once a year and it was always Franco who insisted on meeting us at the airport at the beginning of our stays, and then taking us back when we had to leave. Dear, kind Franco, whose friendly smiling face was the one that shone through the crowd as we came through with (or often, without) our bags. Always cheerful, always in a good mood. Never showing his suffering or problems.

I spoke with Franco last about a week before he died. His voice was strained and different, perhaps affected by the drugs he was taking. I realised this was getting really serious, but nothing could prepare me for the terrible call I had from his son Francesco a few days later. Franco had not survived the weekend and so the blood transfusion planned had not come about. A terrible emptiness opened in my stomach, which remains there to this day and I fear will never go completely. My best and oldest friend had gone; we would never see his smiling face welcoming us to his beloved Milan as we dragged ourselves through the Arrivals gate, longing for a decent night's sleep. The inevitable cappuccino he offered (we never had the loose change) revived us a little and we would catch up on all the news as he drove us through the familiar streets of Milan.

And our thoughts are with the wonderful, strong and brave Enrica his widow and dear Livia and Francesco who are now left behind without the kindest, most wonderful, generous and loving husband and father.

I know Franco brought a lot of pleasure to pipe lovers around the world. I am certain that the care and attention he paid to his Website, and the correspondence he so enjoyed with his contacts and clients, happily sharing his considerable knowledge with everyone showing a genuine interest, will have shown to a large number of good people just what a wonderful man Franco was. It is of some comfort to me that through his beloved pipes and the wonders of the Internet Franco Bolognesi will be remembered and live on.

My admiration and thanks go to his daughter and my dear friend Livia, who will be running this Website from now on in honour of her father. I know that Franco, sitting up there astride a big white cloud, creating a small one of his own with his favourite pipe, will look down and be very proud of her and in some magical way help and assist her in what is not a simple task. It is my sincere hope that those who have enjoyed and benefitted from this Website in the past will continue to do so under its new management, which will be as professional and as dedicated to providing total satisfaction as ever.

Hugh Page Taylor
Melbourne, Australia.