I was elected at the same time as Oscar, as two regional Members, back in 2007. And, of course, we meet each other as we go about our business in the Chamber and in the Senedd, but you get to know each other on the committee work and when you visit places and understand what your work is. Like Nick Ramsay, I first got to know Oscar on the Finance Committee and on a visit to Sweden, where he shocked me with his generosity. But also he left me completely floundering, asking a whole series of questions—which, of course, came from his knowledge and his background—where I understood neither the questions nor the answers. And he had a commitment to hard work, to making sure that people knew that he had that commitment to standing up for people, to representing people and to understand what we were seeking to do.

Angela Burns was kind enough to circulate this morning a photograph taken a few years ago of those of us who were elected in 2007, and there's a lovely image of Oscar there, standing with that lovely smile right in the centre of the photograph. I'm grateful to Angela for circulating that again.

And when we think of Oscar, we think of that kindness, we think of his faith and we think of his love for his family. But kindness is often unspoken and unseen. He was the first person to contact me when I lost my mother earlier this year; when I returned from hospital after an illness a few months ago, there was a card, a 'Get well' card, waiting for me—unseen acts of generosity and kindness. Oscar understood the humanity of politics and the humanity of what we do. There isn't a single one of us who hasn't stood at a door, arguing with Oscar about who would go through first. There isn't a single one of us who hasn't stood in the tea room, as Oscar bought not just a cup of tea, but also a cake and whatever else we might wish to have there. And there isn't a single one of us who hasn't been touched by his care and his concern for not only the people we represent, but the people we don't know. And that's something that is really going to stay with me.

And Oscar's faith was important to him. Darren Millar has spoken about the way in which Oscar was always wanting to be a bridge—a bridge between peoples, a bridge between different faiths and a bridge between different communities. I remember, and I recognise, the work that he has done seeking to create bridges between communities in Wales—seeking to create bridges across the middle east and elsewhere. That warmth and generosity of spirit was something that was a part of him. And through it all, there was the family—there was Firdaus and Natasha. I remember his pride when Natasha contested Blaenau Gwent and I remember the shining eyes and the smile whenever he spoke about his family. 

So, when we remember Oscar, we will remember his kindness; we will remember that warmth, that generosity. We will remember that deep faith and we will remember him as a bridge. I hear many people who talk about kindness, but it was Oscar who lived it and Oscar who embodied it.