Today, we celebrate another one of the departed - Terence Alan Milligan. Also known as Spike to the millions that he touched.
I can just about claim that I grew up with his influence, my earliest Spike memory is the opening to one of his programmes and him sawing half of the "2" logo for BBC2. The only book I have ever saw my Dad read (and probably will ever see read) was a 1972 edition of The Goon Show Scripts, which I then read. The lunacy and sheer level of imagination required to make the adventures come alive seemed to be beyond that of most adults - thought like this should be left to the children.
As I got into my teenage years, I got a copy of 'Rommel: Gunner Who?' and read it from cover to cover, one hot summer's day. I wept with tears of laugher as the nearly deadly miscalculation that nearly killed Harry Secombe ended up uniting two of the Goon triumvate.
Shortly after was the Comedy Awards ceremony.
As Spike chugged past seventy, appearances on television decreased in direct inverse proportion to the volume of praise he was afforded by a new group of surreal comedians who I related to, like Eddie Izzard, and mostly Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer.
In 1998, I had the opportunity to meet Spike and Norma Farnes at a book signing at Waterstones in New Street, Birmingham (co-incidentally, next door to the head office of the Multimedia Toastie Company). He was late for the signing, but my astonishment, he ran up the steps past me in the queue. Amazing sprightliness for a man of advanced age (in my humble opinion). I asked him very nicely to sign my book, and I produced the 1972 scripts, which he kindly signed and dedicated to my Dad. To which he said, "Not this! This is years old!" He then made a fuss of Eileen's Elmo rucksack, giving it a voice.
Truly, the very best reason not to turn up to an Electonics lecture.
Whenever anyone asks me what my life's ambition is, I tell them I have already achieved it - to meet Spike.
Under four years later, he had been taken from us - when I found out he had died, it was within a stone's throw of Waterstone's, and I was with Eileen at the time.
Without putting myself in the same league as him, I can appreciate the wild mood-swings, addictive personality, devotion to the surreal, fascination with children's thought and need to make people laugh.
I am still astonished by his capacity to bring struggle upon himself, with tales of huge alcoholic binges, self admission to 'mental institutions', the constant womanising and workload that he chose to undertake.
All this, and to remain funny at the same time.
A true hero.
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