Clare McDermott

I was very sorry to get the bad news from Clare McDermott's partner Jackie, who’d been a tower of strength during the past four years, as he gradually slipped away. I was glad to hear that members of the family were at the bedside for the final moments. I recall happier days, when Clare and I, both jazz-lovers, listened to a lot of the good old good ones at various jazz clubs on the periphery of London, and jazz festivals in East Anglia and Cork, where veterans from both sides of the Atlantic always turned up. Clare had an encyclopaedic knowledge and a vast collection of early and mid-period jazz and the big bands of old. After the Cork festival we toured the south-west corner of Ireland in typically uncertain weather. Coming back, our ship was held up for half a day outside a south Wales port as a violent storm raged. It was a bit disconcerting to see emergency lifeboats lined up along the beach. But we took to our bunks in the sickening swell and did eventually get ashore. Quite a trip. It was Clare who organised the traditional whip-round in the Editorial when my retirement came and presented me with a fine two-volume Jazz Encyclopaedia. Professionally, he had a vast knowledge of sport, though his putting was not always immaculate! Unfortunately his move to the Midlands meant our meetings were much less frequent and I’d been sorry to hear during the last two years how his health was deteriorating. Well - maybe he’ll find Louis Armstrong or Glen Miller up there! ■