This is a blog written in surprise, sadness and mild shock, certainly not a blog that I thought about prior to writing. As is my habit, I begin my mornings by glancing at the headlines of the International Guardian web-page: there may be an article or two that grabs my interest. Before leaving, I check the obituaries page, in case there might be an article about someone who interests me.
Today it was first Robbie Coltrane, the Scottish giant. I'm not sure where I first saw him and recognised him for who he is; I have just discovered that he appeared in two Bond films, one of which ('Goldeneye') I'm quite fond of. It certainly wasn't Hagrid, the role that probably he will be most remembered for. He also appeared in the video for Kate Bush's song, "Deeper understanding", that I've seen a few times in the Bush renaissance.
Robinson died "suddenly after a brief illness"; this is obviously a euphemism, although for what I do not know. The same is written on his web site, that reveals that Robinson actually died nearly two weeks ago, on 4 October. I was going to write about the coincidence of Robinson dying the same day that Ian Rankin publishes what is guaranteed to be the last Rebus novel (although he could always write about the young Rebus).
Peter Robinson was an immensely talented writer over a very wide range, from poetry, to short stories, noir thrillers to more literary works. He was in fact Dr Robinson, with a PhD in literature, and we saw glimpses of that, and sometimes his poetry, in his novels – as well of course of his very eclectic love of music, shared by Banks. His novels are superbly plotted (one reviewer said he had the precision of Swiss watchmaker) and the settings are vivid and fully real, but it’s the richness and depth of his characters that keep the readers – including me – coming back for more. [Thus writes Carolyn Mays, who was Peter Robinson's editor]
I am greatly saddened by this news.
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