Robin Cook lost his life a year ago today. Anniversaries of people's deaths aren't newsworthy per se, although often the media will use them to, for example, look back at that person's life. But considering the current state of the world, and of the Labour government, I did expect a bit more coverage than there's been.
Yesterday in the Guardian, Cook's former adviser David Clark wrote a political appreciation, and today Margaret Cook, his first wife, has written a warm tribute to the fallible-but-brilliant man that he was, for readers in Scotland.
Elsewhere, a lane has been named after him in his old constituency, and a commemorative bench opened at the Southside Community Centre, Edinburgh.
And, tomorrow, the day after the anniversary, the second Mrs Cook...
... will return with Mr Cook's two sons on the first anniversary [sic] of his death to lay a plaque in his memory near the spot on August 7.
A friend said: "Gaynor will go to Ben Stack to a lay a plaque in Robin's memory. She has found it all very difficult and is only now beginning to come to terms with her loss.
"The first anniversary will be a very emotional day for Gaynor and all of Robin's family."
Since Mr Cook's death, aged 49, Gaynor has been living in England with friends as she deals with her loss. [Sunday Mail, last week]
And that's it. Long-suffering readers of this blog know that I harbour serious suspicions about Robin Cook's death [here]. I've nothing to add to, or subtract from, what I've written previously. I intended not to write about it again. But I can't help thinking that, if Cook had lived, his reputation among his backbench colleagues would now be soaring, Would Cook still be angling for a job under Gordon Brown, or might the anti-Blair, anti-war shift in the party have re-opened the possiblility of him seeking the top job for himself?
Posted by: skipper | 2006.08.06 at 19:50