Two great losses

 I should like to add my own small words of regret and condolence to those of my fellow local Lib Dem members and friends at the passing of Hywel Francis. My own conversation with Dr Francis was a brief one conducted by email over a point where the official Labour line was distinctly illiberal. His replies to me were honest and his own, not from a party template. While not grandstanding as so many so-called rebels have done, he declined to support his party in the relevant votes on the matter. He was a man of principle, a vanishing breed in today's politics.

Nor should we forget Doug Mountjoy, whose death was also announced last Sunday. He was not as much at home in front of the TV cameras as so many of his fellow snooker stars, but one sensed a genuine warmth of personality. He also had a quiet determination. He arrested a decline in form by finding a sports guru who enabled him to remodel his cue action and gain a few more competitive years before he retired.