Leonard Cohen was an icon, a brilliant poet, a bright star shining in the dark skies. His actions also made headline news in the two local weeklies, the Ilford Pictorial (now sadly gone and forgotten - they even demolished the old office to make way for a new road) and the Ilford Recorder.

I was a cub reporter on the Ilford Pictorial from 1968 to 1971. The phone rang, so I answered it - it was the warden at Claybury Mental Hospital, the local institute for the severely troubled. "I have an item of news for you", he said. "Last night, the patients were treated to a little concert at the hospital by a solo guitarist who writes his songs by himself - a Mr Cohen."
I gulped: "Not... not LEONARD Cohen?"
"Yes, that was it… a Mr Leonard Cohen. He had a free night on his tour, but he wanted to play for the patients. He didn't want the money; he did it all for free."
This really was front-page news. At a time when thousands were clamouring for precious tickets, Leonard just turned up to the local hospital and performed for the patients for absolutely zilch...
I said: "How did the patients react? Did they realise that such a famous folk icon was performing to them?"
"Oh, yes – the patients quite enjoyed his songs. They seemed to appreciate his poetry".