Avant

Oh good Lord no. I hope not. What dreadful news. So, so sorry.

I saw your thread on the other site - terrible news. Such a nice person.

A role model for us all..

Maybe it's too soon, and my sincere apologies if it is for you. But, we all must surely create an image of other contributors in our mind's eye. So much so, that I have sometimes created an imaginary cast of who might play each part.

Avant always seemed to be a combination of Michael Kitchen in his role as Foyle and my father, in his demeanour at least. WDB's part would be played by Richard Osman or maybe Greg Davies. Espada by John Thomson, Al by Kenneth Branagh ( after a few more pies perhaps ) Dixi by Paul Hogan obviously, Rob by Rob Bryden, and T&E by Michael Parkinson or Melvin Bragg. I shall think of a few more in due course. Zero by Ray Winston maybe...Bromp by Sean Bean?

I wonder who would work as me?

It feels slightly odd to feel so sad about a person I have never met. To Avant’s huge credit, his character and integrity shone like a beacon in an age when the divisiveness of the Internet medium and social media is becoming ever more apparent. A gentleman.

I feel exactly the same way Dixi. I will miss him a lot. Though I never met him, I feel like I've known him for a very long time. Always the voice of gentle reason. 

Not odd at all. It’s a loss, just as if we had known him in person. Something we enjoyed and valued — his involvement here and his interest in us — won’t be there any more. I miss the others who used to come here — yes, even Sven — and I hope they’ll return. So it’s certainly OK to miss Avant.

Different angle on the same thought: I never met Nelson Mandela either, but I lived through the difference he made to the world and felt his death as a loss too. People affect us in all sorts of ways, and they all mean something.