Tim Cornwell RIP

Devastated to hear of the death of my old friend Tim Cornwell, a fellow trainee reporter at the Hull Daily Mail from 1984-86.

I am not going to repeat Tim's obituary - The Scotsman, where he later worked for many years, has done him proud. 

However, I would like to pay a personal tribute to a good-natured, kind and entertaining man.

The Tim Cornwell I knew was flush with merriment. 

He laughed a lot, although sometimes I wondered if it was the yarns of journalism and life that he found so amusing or the people telling them.

Back in the 1980s, when we were cub reporters together in Hull, East Yorkshire, the social life passed in an alcoholic haze.

I recall a riotous all-night party at Tim's rented flat, and a similarly uproariously drunken gathering at mine (image left). The properties were left in a sorry state!

Many years later, when we renewed our acquaintance at the Edinburgh Fringe, which he was covering for the Scotsman and I was for The Stage newspaper, we reflected more soberly on our lives and travails.

I remember Tim's immense kindness. 

When I told him my long narrative poem was being published in book form, he was full of enthusiasm for this modest effort and interviewed me and engineered a contrived hook to pen a piece about it for The Scotsman.

On another occasion, he told me of his mental health issues, but did not fail to smile and laugh about what he had been through.

You could not but admire his courage, laughing in the face of adversity.

And although I suspected he did not like being photographed, he happily posed for my pictures.

There was also a mischievous side to him. 

I once received a text message from Tim saying that he could not meet up in Edinburgh city centre because he had to lie low for fear of a ferocious Australian funnyman who was after him because he had exposed an act of sharp practice in the comic's publicity material! 

There was a trenchant side to Tim who was willing to speak up when others were falling short, pushing their luck or acting pretentiously. 

The last I heard from Tim was earlier this year when he got in touch to apologise for not coming to my 60th birthday party. How astonished I would have been to know he would never reach that age. He seemed happy and mentioned he had been working on a book involving his late father.

Tim was a one-off, affable and a tad shy, sometimes laughing at what I said while quizzically looking at me like he didn't really believe a word!

I'll miss you, Tim.