大象传媒

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From Dave Tomlinson, writer and Vicar of St Luke鈥檚 Holloway in London:

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I felt real sorrow at the news of film critic Barry Norman鈥檚 death on Friday. It was a bit like losing a distant relative. I never met him but this was the kind of warmth he generated with his shows.

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I know someone who actually wrote to Barry asking if he would be their honorary uncle. The required duties included 鈥榖eing knowledgeable, charming, compassionate and generally avuncular at all times in front of the camera.鈥� No problem there, then. And Barry being the fine, good-humoured man that he was, agreed.

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I have fond memories of watching Barry鈥檚 film show when it first appeared in the 1970s. There was nothing like it. I almost felt I was in a one-to-one tutorial with a friendly, charismatic professor 鈥� as if there were just the two of us in the room, with him pouring forth his witty, knowledgeable insights. He not only gave me a love of films, but also the literacy to watch them well.

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Above all else, Barry Norman was his own person 鈥� an authentic who created an unmistakable style of broadcasting, and apparently charmed the socks off most people he met.

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It can take years to develop authenticity. The constant temptation is to piggy-back other people鈥檚 experiences, to look for shortcuts in life or try to follow another person鈥檚 path instead of our own.

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Elizabeth Gilbert wrote a bestselling book that documents her often humorous and challenging search for self-discovery. She explored the pleasure of nourishing food in Italy, the power of prayer in India, and the inner peace and balance of true love in Indonesia. But then, after the success of her book and the film that followed, Gilbert found people wanting to follow her exact footsteps, hoping to recreate her experiences by copying her path. One woman complained, 鈥楤ut it didn鈥檛 work! I didn鈥檛 find myself and I didn鈥檛 find love!鈥� Gilbert鈥檚 response: 鈥楧on鈥檛 do what I did. Ask what I asked鈥� 鈥� which was 鈥榃ho am I, and what can I bring to this world?鈥�

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The people I love and admire most are not necessarily successful, but real 鈥� people with the grace and humility to be comfortable with who they are鈥�but also courageous enough to keep on learning from others.

That for me was Barry Norman.

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Rest in peace Barry.