I never knew we shared the same middle name! What a wise and wicked man Alan was! I knew him when he was director of Adult Education at Riverina CAE and worked on a number of community education projects with him. But it was his sharp, sceptical insights into the human condition, his laughter at the absurdities of life and mistrust of educational bureaucrats that stays with me. I well remember his embracing of EST and underscoring for me the powerful force and inevitability of living in the present. And how important it was to accept and choose to act - a persuasively existential and humanist attitude. He read voraciously and critically and there was usually a philosophical underpinning to any arguments we had. He was a kind of gloomy mentor to me for a while - who's joy and delight in life was evident in his throaty chuckle. I am sure he 'did not go gentle into that dark night' as Dylan Thomas wrote. Somewhere there's a poem about his father in my papers - I must find it and share it. My condolences to Helen, Deborah, Michelle, Fleur and the rest of the family. I'll miss him. The world is a little darker without Alan (I can almost hear him smile at this....) Where's an icon for an ageing Libertarian????

Alan, a former work colleague and dear friend, was a man of very considerable intellect, excellent administrative capability and the possessor of a lovely impish wit. His integrity shone and inspired many of us at CSU during its formative years. Carolyn and I will miss him dearly and extend to Helen and his family (and especially to Michelle and Fleur, who we have known since their early childhood) our love and very deepest sympathies.