Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Neil MacCormick

Regular readers will know that I was doing my best to avoid politics last week - in one of those periodic attempts to re-acquaint myself with the family ...

... well, as a result, I completely missed (until today) the very, very sad news that Neil MacCormick died on the 5th April.

Neil had the good grace (despite his undoubted work pressures) to grant me an interview way back in February 1995 when I was doing some research on constitutional reform - he spent over an hour of his time with me; answered all my (undoubtedly naive) questions with politeness and candour; was personally encouraging about what I was doing; and was genuinely interested in knowing not just about my subject-matter but also about me. He simply could not have been more thoughtful or helpful in the time I spent with him.

The whole experience really stuck in my memory --- I can vividly recall the meeting today, some 14-years later --- and it was a great encouragement to me at the time.

A truly decent man - precious few, the like-of-which, I've met in my 45-years.

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