That is terrible news. I'm not going to justify his death by pretending a lot of us all knew him and liked him greatly because that would simply be untrue. He left TV Forum over various disagreements with other members. But I will say, he certainly did a lot for presentation fan sites (inc TV Ark) and it's sad he will no longer be able to offer his passion.
Simon certainly seemed one of these many people who enjoyed his childhood memories from Grange Hill to the testcards to TV in the South West.
I didn't know him personally but I know of the endless footage and archive he's brought online and I'm sure he'll be missed.
Well... that's not a very pleasant surprise. I'm genuinely shocked.
I won't bull**** and claim he was much-loved around these parts, but even though we had our disagreements, he still did a lot for our little clique, and an illness like his is something nobody should have to go through... but that's life. Mercifully, he won't have to put up with any more of it.
I agree with the above. Can't pretend that I really liked Simon (in the sense that I never shared his views on anything at all, nor did I agree on the way he put them across).
However, we must remember that his death has left a hole in a lot of peoples' lives - the people who really knew him, his friends and family. If they should happen to read this, as well as GH Online and/or any of the places Simon frequented, I would like to say that my thoughts are with them at this awful time.
I'm saddened by this news. Although Simon wasn't the most popular character on the forum, his commitment to TV Ark and Grange Hill Online was immense. He will be missed.
Well I started the thread over at Metropol and at that point I was still quite shocked by the news. I can't say I knew him well or that I always respected his views but Simon always held conviction in his opinions no matter how controversial.
He firmly believed that TV was better in the past, which is a view many of us share and the amount of knowledge he held proved that opinion was based on more than just nostalgia.
I didn't get to meet Simon, or get to know him that well. But we had shared some emails over at TV Ark and I know he continued to view TV Forum even after he stopped posting.
First heard of this news through MalcyB's Test Card Music Group, I didn't believe it at first, but as I looked on other message boards it began to sink in.
I never had a bad word to say about Simon. Whether you liked him or hated him it is times like this when everyone comes together that things seem to pale into insignificance, particularly when he has been taken at an age that was so young. 35 is no age to die, but sadly it happens.
Having grown up in London, but being a regular visitor to North Devon I enjoyed his contributions of South West material to sites like TV Ark, and these will be missed. At least he got to see some of the best years of TV presentation.
I'm really saddened and shocked to hear about Simon's death. Whatever people thought of him, no-one can argue with the fact that his legacy is a wealth of archival TV material, which I am sure many of us will continue to enjoy. His commitment and dedication to TV Ark, and television presentation generally, was admirable and our broader community would have been worse off without him. Thanks, Simon.
I know many of us didn't exactly see eye-to-eye with him on here, but then it'd be a very dull place if we all agreed on everything.
I always admired and respected his knowledge of TV presentation and the dedicated contribution he made to TV Ark in particular. I think every TV pres enthusiast owes him a great debt.
I see there is a tribute on the TV Ark homepage too.
I found out about this last night, he may of had many disagreements with other forumers regarding present state of the television industry/presentation but he was passionate about views and although I have never met him but have spoken to him via PM. I'm absolutely shocked/sad about this.
This very sad news, say what you like about his presence here on TVF, but you could not fault his commitment to TV Ark and the Grange Hill site that he ran. I wasn't aware he was ill, but still very sad news.