There have been some very touching tributes to the news that Richard Whiteley, beloved presenter of Channel Four's Countdown, died at the weekend. It's always the unexpected that fill you with emotion. Anna's written a wonderful tribute at The Guardian's site (how I wish I could write like her) but Jerrard in that piece's comment sections says,

I pulled in to a lay-by and cried. I'm a 50 year-old man who watched the first episode of Countdown in 1982 and was hooked, thanks to the unassuming geniality of its delightful gentleman host [source)

And, for a moment or two, something about that just made me feel very sad indeed.