Clive Smyth (Anping, Ningpo) 1956-2018
May 18, 2018 20:43:43 GMT
jamesw, firstfrog2013, and 5 more like this
Post by Londonbus1 on May 18, 2018 20:43:43 GMT
It is with great personal sadness that I announce the passing of our learned member Clive Smyth aka Anping.
He passed away early this morning with his wife by his side.
We only met twice but we exchanged words constantly and I grew to admire and respect him both as a man, a Father and a Philatelist.
His knowledge of the Stamps and Covers of Hong Kong was amazing and he related stories and information to me over time that was simply awe-inspiring.
We first met in Starbuck's near London's Embankment, where we waited for the Charing Cross Collectors Market to open. He strode in as large as life, we had coffee and one of the first things he said to me was "I am dying" ! I wasn't sure if he believed it, or even if I did. He was optimistic, brave and quite open as to what his health issues were. I admired him for that. But he listened too, and all during our conversations he was more concerned about my well-being than his. It's something I will never forget about him.
After the market and Stampex, where we both felt unwell, we arranged to share our love of Indian Food and dined together at a Tandoori Restaurant he knew well. His health issues gave him a loss of appetite but he insisted on going nonetheless and we spent hours chatting, mostly about our Hobby.
For the last months we have been having daily chats on Messenger and he sounded as positive as ever whilst filling me in on his news. We even talked about meeting on January 3rd, our birth dates, to have a drink.
On Sunday his wife, Tina, suggested I write a letter for him to read as he was too weak to talk. She read it to him and it made him smile.
It was a pleasure to meet him, to share some time with him and to talk stamps. I will miss him.
My condolences go to his Wife, Children and Family.
Londonbus1
He passed away early this morning with his wife by his side.
We only met twice but we exchanged words constantly and I grew to admire and respect him both as a man, a Father and a Philatelist.
His knowledge of the Stamps and Covers of Hong Kong was amazing and he related stories and information to me over time that was simply awe-inspiring.
We first met in Starbuck's near London's Embankment, where we waited for the Charing Cross Collectors Market to open. He strode in as large as life, we had coffee and one of the first things he said to me was "I am dying" ! I wasn't sure if he believed it, or even if I did. He was optimistic, brave and quite open as to what his health issues were. I admired him for that. But he listened too, and all during our conversations he was more concerned about my well-being than his. It's something I will never forget about him.
After the market and Stampex, where we both felt unwell, we arranged to share our love of Indian Food and dined together at a Tandoori Restaurant he knew well. His health issues gave him a loss of appetite but he insisted on going nonetheless and we spent hours chatting, mostly about our Hobby.
For the last months we have been having daily chats on Messenger and he sounded as positive as ever whilst filling me in on his news. We even talked about meeting on January 3rd, our birth dates, to have a drink.
On Sunday his wife, Tina, suggested I write a letter for him to read as he was too weak to talk. She read it to him and it made him smile.
It was a pleasure to meet him, to share some time with him and to talk stamps. I will miss him.
My condolences go to his Wife, Children and Family.
Londonbus1
