In loving memory

In the early hours of Saturday morning I happened to catch a fascinating short documentary film on C4 called 'The Edgware Walker' about the town's best-known eccentric. Director / producer Lee Kern interviewed local people to establish the myths about the Walker, before revealing the sad truth: he felt compelled to walk or run from one place to another every day as a form of tribute to his father who had committed suicide.

At the end of the interviews Kern broke the news of the Walker's own death, and the expressions on the interviewees' faces spoke volumes - people obviously assumed he'd be around forever, the most recognisable and distinctive feature of their home town even though they knew very little about him. His death was portrayed as a kind of death for the town too.

The film was really affecting, and made me think that the same sort of tribute should be paid to Nottingham's much-missed Xylophone Man aka Frank Robinson, if it hasn't been done already.