Ronald Farquhar

Sad to hear about Ronnie Farquhar, though I’d known for a while he wasn’t in best shape. We still exchanged Christmas cards and notes until fairly recently, when his eyesight became a problem. He was already a veteran when I joined the firm in the late fifties. After years in which you only met certain Reuter colleagues at some international conference or other, I got to know him better when he moved to Geneva. It was there I met Vera too and learned about their very difficult romance in Iron Curtain days. Though he’d retired from active service when I headed the Reuter bureau in Geneva, he was kind enough to help out on occasions, always ready to plough through some intractable document from GATT. But we talked mainly about long-distance walking. It was his account of doing the West Highland Way which inspired me to set out on the Cotswold Way the day after my own retirement. We exchanged experiences on the trail later. Well done, Ronnie, you were a great man, and modesty personified. ■