Sad news →[More:]
I got back to the office today to learn that a dear friend and colleague died while I was away. I'd known Roger for 15 years. He was a barrister and I used to brief him when I was a solicitor in private practice. He came to work here about the same time as I did, and it was a delight to work with him.

A lovely, lovely man, Roger had had a serious heart condition for many years and was on the list for a transplant. But, due to his ethnic background (one of the French Caribbean islands), he knew that the chances of finding a compatible donor were very limited.

Roger told me a few years ago that he could live his life as if wrapped in cotton wool or that he could choose to life a full life, with the extra strain on his heart. He chose the latter - he loved skiing and every winter he'd head off to the Alps or the Dolomites with his family. He never let his illness stop him from doing something he wanted to do.

He collapsed and died at home. He knew his heart could fail at any time and that it was too damaged to allow him to be resuscitated.

He left a wife and 7-year-old daughter.

I'll really miss him. He was a ray of sunshine around this place.

And this puts into perspective all the suckiness of the dozens of emails, faxes and letters that landed on my desk in my absence. None of that matters today.