'Lovely gentleman' never met NZ lover's family

By PATRICK GOWER

Judy Ridgway's boyfriend was to have come to New Zealand in two weeks to meet her family for the first time.

Instead, Chris Kays' body will be flown to England for his funeral. He was one of more than 180 people killed by terrorists in the Bali bombing during a night out drinking with team-mates from his Singapore-based rugby club.

Mr Kays, 30, was one of three team members who died. Five others are still missing, and five more seriously injured.

The couple first met just four months ago when Ms Ridgway, a teacher in Kuala Lumpur, travelled to Singapore for a touch rugby tournament.

They formed a strong bond and visited each other every weekend.

Mr Kays had just been in Kuala Lumpur looking after the 33-year-old former Cambridge woman after she caught the tropical disease dengue fever while on a school trip.

Last night, Ms Ridgway told the Herald that her recovery had meant she had to miss supporting the team's Bali trip as she prepared to bring Mr Kays to New Zealand.

He was to have met her family at her father's 80th birthday in Wanganui at the end of the month.

"It was a rather short time, but Chris had become very special. If somebody is going to come down to New Zealand with you ... There was a special feeling between us."

They also planned to watch some of the Louis Vuitton Cup racing - Mr Kays wanted to support British challenger GBR - and travel around Hawkes Bay wineries.

"Chris was extremely caring and considerate, always trying to do the right thing ... My mother liked the sound of him."

Ms Ridgway spoke to the Herald from Singapore, where she is mourning with members and supporters of the Singapore Cricket Club who had not gone to Bali with the club's rugby team for a 10-a-side tournament.

She said Mr Kays, a halfback, had been working in Singapore for the past year as a quantity surveyor and had made many friends at the club.

Ms Ridgway said most of the team were drinking in Paddys Bar when the bombs went off and the roof above them collapsed.

She said Bali, just a weekend trip away from both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, seemed a "senseless" place for a terrorist strike.

Her mother, also called Judy, said the entire family had been looking forward to meeting Mr Kays.

Although she had heard a lot about him through emails and phone calls from her daughter, she had never seen a photo of him.

"[Judy] just loved his English manners - she said he was a gentleman, a lovely gentleman. Everyone here was very excited about meeting this guy Chris. We were all keeping our fingers crossed. He just sounded like a pretty good guy."


Bali messages and latest information on New Zealanders
New Zealand travellers in Bali, and their families around the world, can exchange news via our Bali Messages page. The page also contains lists of New Zealanders in Bali and their condition.

Foreign Affairs advice to New Zealanders

* Travellers should defer travel to Bali

* NZers in Bali should keep a low profile and remain calm

* Foreign Affairs Hotline: 0800 432 111

Feature: Bali bomb blast

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