Just so desperately sad when I was told this morning he had passed away. Having seen him at Dunsmore and then seeing his son Nick on Sunday at Larkhill, I knew it was imminent. It doesn't make it any less of a shock or loss to the Pointing world. He was for me a wonderful man, someone I looked up to as a journalist and whom I admired greatly. I loved seeing him at meetings and always made a point of going to chat to him. He never disappointed. Always incredibly knowledgeable he wasn't averse to the odd quip about someone and often it was with a twinkle in his eye. His writing for me was glorious to read and I loved his literary introductions - I felt like an imposter in his presence. Granville you will be missed more than you could possibly imagine.
This is heartbreaking news at any time, but especially so close to Xmas.
A wiser, kinder, more dedicated colleague than Granville it would be impossible to find; and I'm all the sadder that in our eighteen concurrent seasons on the racereaders' roster, the mileage between Devon and Yorkshire prevented more meet-ups than actually took place.
He ran up far more years' service than just those shared ones, of course. You'd have to go back some five decades before finding an edition of the Annual not to bear his name as a contributor. Always there, always sure of his opinion, always fair in how it was conveyed.
Truly the best of us. My heart goes out to Gill, Nick, Gillian and the family. Rest easy, Granville.
Just so desperately sad when I was told this morning he had passed away. Having seen him at Dunsmore and then seeing his son Nick on Sunday at Larkhill, I knew it was imminent. It doesn't make it any less of a shock or loss to the Pointing world. He was for me a wonderful man, someone I looked up to as a journalist and whom I admired greatly. I loved seeing him at meetings and always made a point of going to chat to him. He never disappointed. Always incredibly knowledgeable he wasn't averse to the odd quip about someone and often it was with a twinkle in his eye. His writing for me was glorious to read and I loved his literary introductions - I felt like an imposter in his presence. Granville you will be missed more than you could possibly imagine.
This is heartbreaking news at any time, but especially so close to Xmas.
A wiser, kinder, more dedicated colleague than Granville it would be impossible to find; and I'm all the sadder that in our eighteen concurrent seasons on the racereaders' roster, the mileage between Devon and Yorkshire prevented more meet-ups than actually took place.
He ran up far more years' service than just those shared ones, of course. You'd have to go back some five decades before finding an edition of the Annual not to bear his name as a contributor. Always there, always sure of his opinion, always fair in how it was conveyed.
Truly the best of us. My heart goes out to Gill, Nick, Gillian and the family. Rest easy, Granville.
gc
On JFF he was always very balanced and knowledgeable in his views and was polite to all. RIP