Re: Australian broadcaster Clive James has died
Originally Posted by
keezoy
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I have to stick my nose in here one more time., I have spent the day poring over my Clive James collection. Looking at pieces on You Tube etc. And I will freely admit there has been a little moistening of the eyes from time to time. My last tribute. Among the many things that I admired and loved about the man was that he never devalued or rubbished his Australian roots like some of his contemporaries viz Humphries and Greer, did. And OMG could he write.
“As I begin this last paragraph, outside my window a misty afternoon drizzle gently but inexorably soaks the City of London. Down there in the street I can see umbrellas commiserating with each other. In Sydney Harbour, 12,000 miles away and 10 hours from now, the yachts will be racing on the crushed diamond water under a sky the texture of powdered sapphires. It would be churlish not to concede that the same abundance of natural blessings which gave us the energy to leave has every right to call us back…Pulsing like a beacon through the days and nights, the birthplace of the fortunate sends out its invisible waves of recollection. It always has and it always will, until even the last of us come home.”
I read the quoted bit in his voice - with a slight but distinct nasal twang.
I loved watching his brilliant shows on tv and had a couple of his audio books. The way he used to write his own obituaries after the diagnosis was so funny, waiting for death and being surprised to be alive after each setback.
RIP Clive ... thanks for all the fun and entertainment.
ETA: such a shame he could never go back to Australia after his diagnosis as he wanted to so much.