IN MEMORY OF GIULIANO

MY LETTER TO MY SON

My Dear Son Giuliano

Just the other day, we were laughing together

Today I am here with your friends and family to bury you, Julz

To bury a husband was hard,

To bury my son is against nature and a pain which words cannot tell.

You were but twenty-five, a man with a heart of gold

But wise beyond your age and spiritually advanced

And you could play with life with a grown man's confidence

And now you know already the answer to all your questions.

You died knowing you were dying and moving onto another level to be with Papa

But you were not afraid. You freed yourself from this life.

It was your choice my son and you have my utmost respect for what you did.

You were brave, and you were handsome,

You were highly intelligent, and you were generous,

You gave love, and you gave friendship,

And you had love, you had a family and many, many friends,

You had an exciting life and lived life to the fullest.

You shared with all - your beautiful smile,

Your charm, your wit, your sense of humour, your enthusiasm

Your future was a promise of challenge and adventure

But for you that was simple and you needed more...

You decided to leave earth to seek a greater power in

Your spiritual being and that I understand

I am asking, where are you really as this is but your body?

Are you now the hot sun? Are you the clouds and the rain?

Are you this wind Julz, or are you the stars in the sky overhead?

I will look for you always and I will see you in every flower, in every bird,

In every red sunset, as everything of beauty wil forever be you.

Anything young and proud, anything good and strong.

You were an extraordinary person, misunderstood by some

Your short life was extraordinary and

Extraordinary was your sudden parting

For us - who are left behind - remains just to wonder

The reason for your choice to leave now.

Thank you for giving me the honour and privilege

Of having you for twenty-five years - I have been blessed.

Julz my son, as sure as the sand, it is written,

We shall be together again.

I hope your journey has been good

As you have already arrived.

You will be sorely missed

I love you Julz

Mama

BIMBAS' EULOGY – GIULIANO MAURIZIO MERLO 26-12-1984 – 14-10-2010

Where to start? There is so much to say about my beautiful son, Giuliano, we could be here all day! Because Giuliano was so unique, people craved his company and he always took centre stage. Some of his performances were truly worthy of an Oscar.

Like Claudio (his Father), Giuliano had the same broad smile and infectious laugh. They both relished the opportunity to entertain people in their own special way and make them laugh. In fact, on many levels, they were like two peas in a pod.

Julz had a wicked sense of humour, always joking, teasing and playful with a twist. He was always hungry for knowledge. If people make reference to or speak about ‘Mr Know All’ our Giuliano would be able to wear that Title or Badge with confidence as he was the original ‘Mr Know All’.

Every subject matter was a challenge to him to research and quench his insatiable thirst for knowledge. He would go so in-depth until he had all the facts on hand.

One thing about Giuliano – He never suffered fools and as a result was sometimes misunderstood.

Julz had a passion for fast cars, speed, Martial Arts, Cage Fighting – anything that gave him an adrenaline rush.

The profound words he wrote indicate how intellectually and spiritually advanced he was. His quest was to undertake the Ultimate Journey thereby finding the answers to his unanswered questions.

Giuliano was loved by all who knew him and will always be sorely missed. He knew a lot of people and had a wide range of friends from all walks of life. All the countless messages on Facebook are a clear indication of his popularity and the love everybody had for him.

----------------- “I’ll lend you for a while a beautiful child of Mine”, He said.

” For you to love when he lives and mourn when he dies.

It may be six or seven years or twenty five or more, but will you,

till I call him back, take good care of him for Me?” ..............................

Will love and miss you Always and Forever my Son

Mamma

In Memory of our Darling Julz - Giuliano Maurizio Merlo

If the soul is very clear that staying does not

serve its higher agenda - that there is no

further way that it can evolve through this

body - the soul is going to leave, and nothing can

stop it - nor should anything try.

The greatest gift we can give julz is to let him

go in peace and not to worry about us at this

the most crucial passage in his life.

Thank you to all, family, friends, staff and

patrons of Lucios, who have sent flowers, cards

or shared words, tears, hugs or been a shoulder

to cry on.

Bimba and Armando Merlo

" Death is at once the end of the body's Old journey

and the beginning of the souls New journey" - Sri Chinmoy

EULOGY TO GIULIANO - AINSLEY SIM (Friend)

Jules and I first met in Grade 1 at Cliffview Primary School in 1990.

My first encounter with him was when he showed me a Karate Chop but instead, missed me and hit the girl next to me! Our friendship from that day onwards blossomed into something special.

We would spend many school holidays asking Claude to please drive us around in his Jeep with our McGyver haircuts blowing in the wind - we thought we were the hottest things in town.

Primary school day passed and before we knew it we were off to High School where he went to St. Johns an I went to Kes. Our friendship lasted through this and we became even closer. Once we had left school, from having my 21st at Lucios, to all the unforgettable memories we shared. I remember when the Springboks won the 2007 World Cup. Jules and I were hugging each other and the tears were running down our cheeks with Tiesto waving a Springbok flag as he came onto the stage.

One of my fondest memories was of my birthday when we all went away to Mountain Sanctuary for the weekend and after a number of glasses of red wine, Jules and I decided to make a huge bubble bath and in we climbed. This was in true Jules style and we sat there contemplating life and talking absolute rubbish.

From the dinners Bimba used to make us every Thursday then straight to the computer to look for fresh beats, these are the things I remember of Jules. He was a loyal friend and never had a bad word to say about anyone.

I'm sure a lot of you are angry and confused as to why Jules has done this, but please, we have to respect this and try understand why! He left a note - This wrold was not enough for Jules, he needed more. Don't hold this against him. So let us not judge. Wish him peace, good fortune and a wonderful journey. He is free!

BUSHIDO - Way of the Warrior. Japanese Code of Conduct. This Code is said to have emphasized virtues such as loyalty, honour, obedience, duty and self sacrifice.

POEM FOR JULES

Don't grieve for me now, for now I'm free. I'm following what God laid out for me. I took Gods hand when I heard the call, I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day. To laugh, to love, to work or to play. Tasks left undone, must stay that way. I found that place at the close of the day.

If my Parting has left a void, then fill it with remembered joy. A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss. Oh yes, these things I too will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow. I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow. My life's been full. I've savoured much. Good friends, good times, a loved ones touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief. Don't lengthen it now with undue grief. Lift up your heart and share with me. God wanted me now, God set me free.

R.I.P My Special friend. Your beautiful smile and infectious laugh will run through us all!

EULOGY TO GIULIANO - FROM ARIANNE, ALEXIA & NIKKI (Cousins from Italy)

Being the family living on the other side of the world has its advantages and disadvantages.

Right now, us cousins from Rome, can only think of one important advantage: the capacity of not fully realizing that there are members of our family that we will never see again.

By saying this, we mean that the memory of our dearest never stop being alive in our heads, and the sparkle of their essence keeps living with us through the days.

The first thing that comes to mind when we think of Giuliano is the image of our oldest cousin. The one who always had the brightest blonde hair in our family, that loved to show off his muslces, that always wanted to look tough, but was actually the kindest.

The night before Lara's wedding, we sat all cousins together, except of course the small ones, and had Sambucca shots, talked about some good house music, listened to Gulz's CD's - it was great.

The morning after, Claudio told us that we had woken everybody up with our laughs and jumping around - but it was fine. It was a very special moment for us cousins, we had shared for the first time, deep thoughts, we had spent all night talking, as if the distance between us never existed, especially with Gulz. There we knew who was our cousin and how he felt about women, music and life.

We want to share this happy memory, for those who were with us, for Bimba, for Claudio, for Armando and for Gulz.

EULOGY TO GIULIANO - FROM FABIO (Cousin from Australia)

Note To Bimba - From Lucio's Patron

Not often does life reveal itself to us in it's cruellest beauty

The death and life that is welded into spiritual transformation

Giuliano's message to you is epic.

It is, on the one hand, a song of an innocent everlasting light

Seeking his path to a gorgeous everlasting life.

It is, on the other hand, a young man's voice of sadness

Who felt betrayed, not by the loss, but by the slavery of mourning.

Giuliano's passing to his chosen destiny

Is a concert born of his own time and rhythm