Nigel was a top bloke indeed, and I was proud to be able to count him as a friend.

He sometimes came to my exhibitions, and always called me "Blossom". He exuded righteous humanity, hated the Tories and loved butterflies.

Knowing he was dying, I wrote him a letter last week to tell him how much we loved him, and thank him for 20 years of friendship.

If you knew him, you were lucky.