Each year at this time I've posted a list of the folk who've made a difference, an impact, on my life and have passed on since the last time I posted such a list. And that's a nice sentence to encapsulate the circle of life - a beginning, middle and end, ever-flowing, one generation into a regeneration.
For some, today sees the end of the 'noughties', and presumably the beginning of the two thousand and teens. A clean start?
Hardly. The failure of the Copenhagen talking shop to sufficiently cap carbon emissions guarantees that, but at the same time perhaps there is hope. The 'people' are coming together in mass movements, not just in the global sense but also for more parochial concerns.
Some of these folk would surely have shared my faint optimism.
January
--1. Helen Suzman, 91, anti-racism politician in South Africa's apartheid parliament. "Let right be done."
--9. Dave Dee (David John Harman), 65, singer with Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich.
14. Patrick McGoohan, 80, 'cult' film and TV actor. "I am not a number - I am a free man!"
16. John Mortimer, 85, popular writer (Rumpole), barrister, and defender of free speech.
18. Tony Hart, 83, much loved children's TV art encourager.
21. Mickey Gee, 65, guitarist
24. Gerry Crampton, 78, stuntman in many James Bond and Pink Panther films.
29. John Martyn OBE, 60, much loved singer-songwriter and innovative guitarist (Listen to Solid Air here.)
February
--7. Sir George Godber, 100, Chief Medical Officer who helped found the NHS and fought tobacco use and promiscuity.
--7. Blossom Dearie, 82, jazz singer whose "voice would scarcely reach the second storey of a doll's house".
25. Ian Carr, 75, UK jazz trumpet player, biographer of Miles Davis and, coincidentally, played on Blossom Dearie’s last album.
26. James White, Labour MP best known for his Abortion Bill
March
18. Natasha Richardson, 45, actress, after a skiing accident.
April
14. Simon Channing Williams, 63, film producer (Constant Gardener + most Mike Leigh films)
15. Sir Clement Freud, 84, politician, writer, panelist, and grandson of Sigmund.
May
--6. John Michell, 'discoverer' of ley lines.
June
--1. Danny La Rue, 81, "classy" drag entertainer.
--7. Hugh Hopper, 64, bass player extraordinaire, original member of Canterbury Scene (Soft Machine ++)
16. Charlie Mariano, 85, seminal jazz alto saxophonist.
24. Michael Jackson, 'king of pop'
July
--1. Mollie Sugden, 86, comedy actor with a 'pussy'.
31. Sir Bobby Robson, 76, great football manager.
August
--6. WS Rendra, 73, 'Father' of Indonesian theatre, poet, writer, dramatist, cultural activist.
13. Les Paul (Lester William Polsfuss), 94, pioneer of multitrack recording, the godfather of the electric guitar.
26. Edward "Teddy" Moore Kennedy, 77, US Senator - "champion of the poor and needy."
September
--4. Keith Waterhouse, 80, writer and humorist (Billy Liar)
14. Keith Floyd, 65, restauranteur and original TV chef.
14. Patrick Swayze, 57, dancer, actor and singer
15. Peggy Fenner, 96, Charlton fan and jazz aficionado
October
18. Sir Ludovic Kennedy, 89, broadcaster and campaigner against death penalty.
November
12. Edward Woodward , 79, actor
16. Jeff Clyne, 72, jazz bassist
27. Fauzi Abdullah, 60, Indonesian labour activist.
December
17. Susan Rangkuti, 34, our 'daughter'.
21. Craigie Aitchison, 83, artist.
24. Tim Hart, 61, folk musician
30. Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, 69, cleric, pluralist, visionary, Indonesia's 4th President.
Cypress Tree and BeddingtonCraigie Aitchison - 2005
