Received very sad news last night - Mr Alastair Whybrow's RL self is no longer with us. He had been fighting cancer and absent from SL for some time now... my good wishes went out to him, of course, but there is so little that good wishes can do.
Mr Whybrow's name has featured in this blog before... in SL, he was one of the niche creators who only seem to exist in this oddball medium we inhabit. His speciality was jewelry, crafted in the most exact, delicate and painstaking manner, wielding prims with the same exactitude as a real-world jeweller. I have, of course, some examples of his work - not, I regret to say, the most gigantically impressive creations, involving well over a thousand prims - but enough, I hope, to remember him by.
He was a presence, too, in Caledon, ready in chat with opinions and witticisms; his shop "Sparkle of Sound" was a landmark in Caledon Southend... and he encouraged and advised me on my own minor commercial ventures.
In RL, he was close enough, geographically, to my typist that we shared reminiscences of local characters and local events, over many a long conversation. We shared ideas, and stories... and I regret very deeply that we won't be doing that any more.
Godspeed, Mr Whybrow. You are missed... a gentleman, and a creator, and one of the good people in SL. I will close with a quotation which, I think, he might have found apt: "He’s in Arthur’s bosom, if ever man went to Arthur’s bosom." And I will treasure my memories of him.
I did not know Mr. Whybrow well, but I do have a couple of his creations, and I always enjoyed his banter in the ISC group chat. I'll miss him, and I'm sure that his many close friends will miss him even more. God bless, sir.
ReplyDeleteHis store opposite mine was a comforting and enduring landmark. I am very sad that he and his properties are no longer here. But he was stoical to the end, always friendly, always entertaining, a true old fashioned gentleman.
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