Micca was a great friend to Edmund and me, as he was to so many who have already posted.

I have rarely met anyone so generous with his time and space. Like Animaterra and her daughter, in 2006 Edmund and I enjoyed the great privilege of a visit as house guests in Plaistow, and Micca's services as guide to his favourite things in London. I will never forget the bolt of combined relief and delight when I spotted him waiting for us in Arrivals at Heathrow, and the pang when I realized that he had arisen well before dawn to get there in time on the Tube.

The last time we saw him was in 2016, when we were booked in at a Travelodge on Woolwich High Street. Again, he met us at Heathrow at an indecent hour and escorted us across London and onto the Crossrail, a journey we were too exhausted to have managed on our own. My last sight of him was outside the Great Harry, where we had eaten a sort-of-okay Wetherspoon's Sunday lunch. He was a bit tottery then, no longer up to marathons such as the Micca Tour of the British Museum, but still his salty self and the best dinner companion we could hope for.

Since then, our only contact has been through Facebook. Fortunately, Micca's skill with a quip made him one of the few people who used that medium to good advantage.

In the current pandemic conditions, I honestly cannot foresee ever visiting the UK again. Without Micca in it, London is so much less appealing that I almost don't mind.