I'm sitting here, at 7.30 on Friday evening, wanting to write a full tribute to Sir David Amess. But the words won't come. I think I know the reason, because at exactly this time, I should be sitting beside David at a dinner of his Southend West Conservative Association. He invited me to do this back in May and I had been looking forward to it, because as the after dinner entertainment he was going to turn the tables and interview me, rather than the other way around. Sadly, that won't now ever happen.
At 12.29 this lunchtime I was on my way to Goudhurst to have lunch with Sian Williams, the broadcaster. I'd been looking forward to it for a while but half way there I received an email from the organiser of tonight's event. I quickly read the contents and said out loud in horror: 'Oh My God'. She had explained that David had been stabbed multiple times but she didn't know his condition. She was adamant that David would want to event to go ahead. I thought she must have missed out the word 'not'. She was right, though. He would. But as time passed, the fact that he was being tended to by medics on the scene rather than having been taken to hospital made me fear the worst. And so it came to be. I spoke to Shelagh Fogarty on LBC just after his death was announced and just about held it together, but I think anyone listening would have known how upset I was. Anyway, the best I can do now, is urge you to watch this hour long interview I recorded with David for my All Talk podcast in May. I'm listening to it as I type this and it's the first time I've laughed today. He really was such an entertaining man - and a fellow West Ham fan.
I'll write a proper tribute over the weekend when my head is in a better place.