PC
This is a real shock; It has quite staggered me. Very sad about it. 
Never really spoke to him personally - I had planned to discuss some things with him in relation to archive material, but regrettably I never did get round to it. I had actually expected he'd be around for years yet, continuing with additions to the Ark and such...A great shame that he has gone.
He may not have been the most liked guy here; at times he was controversial in his opinions, that's for sure. But it is undisputable that he had absolutely tons of enthusiasm for TV Pres - an outstanding contributor to the online archives.
He was one of the few people on the forum whom I sensed were not just interested, but genuinely passionate about it. I remember I was receiving a bit of flack here when BBC2 rebranded in '07, about mentioning the change of '2'. I think only two people really understood what I was saying at the time, and Simon was one of those people. So I was grateful for that. Even when you know what you're talking about, as I was, it's reassuring to have a knowledgeable person who agrees with you.
I guess that his TV Ark contributions, alongside Grange Hill Online, are his legacy. He may have gone, but as long as the sites stay online, his work will continue to be of enjoyment to many people, for many years yet; and that's no bad thing.
I hate to sound pessimistic about the future, but I reckon he was around long enough to see the best years of British TV presentation through. So even though he won't be here to cover the next big BBC rebrand, I doubt he'll be missing anything that great!
Thanks for all your work over the years, Simon - I'll say, few will ever match your dedication to the pres scene.
Never really spoke to him personally - I had planned to discuss some things with him in relation to archive material, but regrettably I never did get round to it. I had actually expected he'd be around for years yet, continuing with additions to the Ark and such...A great shame that he has gone.
He may not have been the most liked guy here; at times he was controversial in his opinions, that's for sure. But it is undisputable that he had absolutely tons of enthusiasm for TV Pres - an outstanding contributor to the online archives.
He was one of the few people on the forum whom I sensed were not just interested, but genuinely passionate about it. I remember I was receiving a bit of flack here when BBC2 rebranded in '07, about mentioning the change of '2'. I think only two people really understood what I was saying at the time, and Simon was one of those people. So I was grateful for that. Even when you know what you're talking about, as I was, it's reassuring to have a knowledgeable person who agrees with you.
I guess that his TV Ark contributions, alongside Grange Hill Online, are his legacy. He may have gone, but as long as the sites stay online, his work will continue to be of enjoyment to many people, for many years yet; and that's no bad thing.
I hate to sound pessimistic about the future, but I reckon he was around long enough to see the best years of British TV presentation through. So even though he won't be here to cover the next big BBC rebrand, I doubt he'll be missing anything that great!
Thanks for all your work over the years, Simon - I'll say, few will ever match your dedication to the pres scene.
AS
Asa
Admin
Shocking news this, Simon was a regular contributor to TV Forum for over five years with 1100 posts. He’d personally helped me a lot in the early days with offering some of his archive material to help TV Home and I’d had numerous correspondence with him over the years. His contribution to pres on the net was immense, especially with everything his did with TV Ark.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that behind the posts we’re all real people with real lives. My thoughts go out to his family.
Asa
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that behind the posts we’re all real people with real lives. My thoughts go out to his family.
Asa
AB
I am very sorry to hear about Simon's premature death. I'm going to miss him very much.
The two of us e-mailed each other regularly for several years and I sent him a number of old tapes for TV-ark.
I must say I didn't agree with him very often when it came to modern broadcasting but I was extremely fond of him.
Poor Simon, bless him. We shared the same childhood interest in tv. He loved all the things I loved when I was a kid but packed away years ago into the little part of me which will always be 10.
However it's worth remembering why Simon cared so much about tv. He cared because it was important to him. And it was important to him for two good reasons. He lived in an isolated area and suffered poor health. The people on this forum who work in television - or who'd like to work in television - should always remember the people like him.
Funny. I'm on holiday and writing this in a cyber-cafe... and playing in the background is the original version of "It Must Be Love", a song which used to get played with the test card. I know who'd have much preferred the slightly dodgy test card cover version!
RIP Simon. God bless you and thanks for all the happy memories mate.
The two of us e-mailed each other regularly for several years and I sent him a number of old tapes for TV-ark.
I must say I didn't agree with him very often when it came to modern broadcasting but I was extremely fond of him.
Poor Simon, bless him. We shared the same childhood interest in tv. He loved all the things I loved when I was a kid but packed away years ago into the little part of me which will always be 10.
However it's worth remembering why Simon cared so much about tv. He cared because it was important to him. And it was important to him for two good reasons. He lived in an isolated area and suffered poor health. The people on this forum who work in television - or who'd like to work in television - should always remember the people like him.
Funny. I'm on holiday and writing this in a cyber-cafe... and playing in the background is the original version of "It Must Be Love", a song which used to get played with the test card. I know who'd have much preferred the slightly dodgy test card cover version!
RIP Simon. God bless you and thanks for all the happy memories mate.
RE
I too would like to express my sincere condolences. I am genuinely shocked and saddened by this news.
It's strange because although he was someone whom I'd never met, I felt I knew him because he had such a similar intrest in TV presentation to me. I thoroughly admired him for his great work on TV memorabilia and for providing people with a stunning range of material. I honestly believe he is possibly the best collector of such items. It was clearly something he loved.
Thank you Simon for your hard work.
It's strange because although he was someone whom I'd never met, I felt I knew him because he had such a similar intrest in TV presentation to me. I thoroughly admired him for his great work on TV memorabilia and for providing people with a stunning range of material. I honestly believe he is possibly the best collector of such items. It was clearly something he loved.
Thank you Simon for your hard work.
TV
This news really is quite difficult to take in.
I hadn't spoken directly with Simon for a number of weeks but became involved in an e-mail conversation he had been having on Monday evening. It appeared to be business as usual.
He had been in hospital for a period last year, but appeared to have recovered well. In the many conversations we've had over the years, Simon rarely ever mentioned his health. He just got on with things.
Simon had been a great help to me over the years, offering many clips and much useful background information for The TV Room. In spite of his strong commitment to TV-Ark, his generosity towards TTVR never relented. That is a tremendous credit to him. He always offered to help out in any way that he could.
Be in no doubt, Simon has made an immense contribution in helping preserve footage of that particular aspect of television that all of us here enjoy. Over the years, he recorded thousands of hours of TV and has been involved directly or indirectly in acquiring a vast amount of footage. The internet was such a revelation for him, and enabled him to share his passion for TV presentation with a huge audience.
He was always delighted to speak with anyone who shared his TV interests. We had many e-mail chats, covering various TV-related topics, where both of us would ramble on endlessly. Sometimes I think we both competed to see how anoraky we could get. I think it's fair to say that Simon usually won.
My sincerest condolences to his family.
RIP Simon.
I hadn't spoken directly with Simon for a number of weeks but became involved in an e-mail conversation he had been having on Monday evening. It appeared to be business as usual.
He had been in hospital for a period last year, but appeared to have recovered well. In the many conversations we've had over the years, Simon rarely ever mentioned his health. He just got on with things.
Simon had been a great help to me over the years, offering many clips and much useful background information for The TV Room. In spite of his strong commitment to TV-Ark, his generosity towards TTVR never relented. That is a tremendous credit to him. He always offered to help out in any way that he could.
Be in no doubt, Simon has made an immense contribution in helping preserve footage of that particular aspect of television that all of us here enjoy. Over the years, he recorded thousands of hours of TV and has been involved directly or indirectly in acquiring a vast amount of footage. The internet was such a revelation for him, and enabled him to share his passion for TV presentation with a huge audience.
He was always delighted to speak with anyone who shared his TV interests. We had many e-mail chats, covering various TV-related topics, where both of us would ramble on endlessly. Sometimes I think we both competed to see how anoraky we could get. I think it's fair to say that Simon usually won.
My sincerest condolences to his family.
RIP Simon.
MA
Maaixuew
I never knew Simon personally, I had spoken to him a couple of times in the past; but from all the great work I had heard from and about him over the years I thought it would be a crime to not show my sense of loss, RIP
ST
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that behind the posts we’re all real people with real lives. My thoughts go out to his family.
Asa
as a fellow Modorator on another website I agree it's easy to forget the real people behind the posts. reporting the death of a member is hard as you 'know' them but never actually 'knew' them.
Asa posted:
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that behind the posts we’re all real people with real lives. My thoughts go out to his family.
Asa
as a fellow Modorator on another website I agree it's easy to forget the real people behind the posts. reporting the death of a member is hard as you 'know' them but never actually 'knew' them.