Sue Carroll's "rants" must not be in vain
Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 9:00 The death of Mirror journalist Sue Carroll, aged 58, is very sad news.
It's a huge loss not only for her partner, family and friends, but also for Forest and anyone who values old-fashioned virtues such as tolerance, courtesy and common sense.
Sue outed herself as a member of Forest in 2006. I don't know when she first registered her support but our paths had crossed the previous year with the publication of a book she had co-written with Sue Brealey. It was called The Joy of Smoking and Sue (Brealey) asked if we could help promote it. Afterwards Sue (Carroll) sent "a very quick line to say thank-you for all the help you've given us, it's very much appreciated".
Later that year she accepted our invitation to take part in what became a famous Forest event at the Labour party conference in Brighton (David Hockney leads opposition against ban on smoking in all public places). Afterwards she joined Hockney, Joe Jackson and several other guests for a private dinner that still makes me laugh and smile when I think about it.
In March 2006, shortly after MPs voted to introduce a comprehensive public smoking ban in England, we invited her to a Forest party at the Groucho Club in Soho. Hosted by Antony Worrall Thompson, the event featured the Forest Annual Awards and the winner of the Best Journalist of the Year award was ... Sue Carroll.
Afterwards she emailed to say: "I was absolutely thrilled with my award, thank you so much for nominating me, it's good to know all my rants haven't been in vain."
The following year, just days before the introduction of the smoking ban in England, Sue was one of 400 guests at Forest's Revolt In Style dinner at the Savoy Hotel in London. The event – which featured guest speakers Andrew Neil and Claire Fox – inspired an article in the Mirror: Our freedom has gone up in smoke.
Of all national newspaper columnists, it was Sue who was most likely to rail against the smoking ban and other laws designed to bully and denormalise ordinary men and women who choose to smoke. Given the Mirror's overwhelming editorial bias against smoking, her support was not only welcome, it represented a rare glimpse of common sense in a newspaper that lost its way many years ago.
In recent years I saw her once or twice on the Alan Titchmarsh Show (ITV). She seemed in good spirits. She looked great too so it was a genuinely shocking moment when I read, earlier this year, that she had pancreatic cancer and the outlook was bleak.
I waited in vain for her column to reappear in the Mirror and two weeks ago I thought long and hard about sending her a Forest Christmas card but decided not to in case our light-hearted illustration of Santa holding a cigar between two fingers shaped like a 'V' might strike the wrong note with someone who was seriously ill. It may have amused her but I didn't want to take the risk.
In person I was struck by Sue's modesty and the fact that she seemed quite happy not being centre stage. In contrast her writing was fearlessly outspoken and she held nothing back, witness these highly personal accounts: I had my face burnt off so I could look 10 years younger (May 2010) and, earlier this year, My cancer fight - Mirror columnist opens her heart over pancreatic tumour.
The latter includes this comment:
No one has blamed my lifestyle, so I don’t regret a single cigarette or cocktail. I’d love my old life back but I was as determined then, as I am now, not to whinge about life being unfair.
The absence of self-pity is one of many reasons to mourn Sue Carroll's death. Others include her outspoken support for personal choice and her empathy for ordinary people, especially those who choose to smoke and drink.
We have lost a very good friend who will be greatly missed.
See also: Daily Mirror columnist Sue Carroll dies aged 58 (Daily Mirror), Sue Carroll obituary (Daily Telegraph), Sue Carroll - the columnist with a direct line to the Mirror's readers (Guardian)
Simon Clark
The Independent has this to say:
She became a star columnist in 1998 ... Her favourite targets included political correctness, yobbish behaviour and the "health police". A militant advocate for the right to smoke in public, she appeared on platforms at meetings organised by Forest, the tobacco industry's lobby group [sic], in their failed attempt to head off the Labour government's ban on smoking in pubs and restaurants.
See: Sue Carroll: Journalist acclaimed for her straight-talking columns
Reader Comments (5)
Forest lose a friend
I’ve seen Sue interviewed or giving her views as part of an invited panel on television, several times over the years, and she always made a refreshing change from the spine-snappingly PC brigade. Her honesty and decent common sense made her very likeable whenever she appeared.
I saw her fairly recently on the Alan Titchmarsh show fighting her corner very easily against those in favour of the smoking ban, Titchmarsh was of course playing devil’s advocate with little effect against Sue.
I’ve just read her article in the Daily Mirror about the impending smoking ban – a great common sense article with wisdom too.
See you in the next life Sue.
"Life is like a candle in the dark. It doesn't matter how long it burns but how bright it shines." .
Sue Carroll's wisdom, common sense and honesty was an illumination that allowed closed minds to see.
Such a loss.
So sorry to hear this news. I last saw her debating "the ban smoking in cars " issue with some idiot on I believe the bbc a while ago in which she came over brilliantly.
Disgusted by the comment in the guardian by barry1858.
These people are filth!
Got a link Sheila?
Thanks for the Guardian link Simon...I have left I hope an appropiate comment for our friend barry1858...perhaps he only has 1858 brain cells.