Andrew Ian Dodge

Sorry to hear that Andrew Ian Dodge has died aged 46.

I didn't really know him and had only the sketchiest grasp of what he actually did, but he was one of a handful of libertarians who managed to create a distinctive, larger than life persona online.

His Twitter profile describes him as a "former US Senate Candidate Maine (libertarian), former Tea Party cordinator, freelance writer, pundit and lyricist/singer".

I don't know how long he lived in London but he came to several Forest events, which is how I met him.

The first was at the Groucho Club in 2006. I still have the email acknowledging his registration:

Dear Andrew, We look forward to seeing you on Monday from 6.30pm. Please note that entrance to the Soho Bar at The Groucho Club is via 42 Dean Street.

After the event we wrote to all our guests:

A quick note to thank everyone who came to The Groucho Club on Monday night. If you couldn't make it, but are on this e-list, you missed a typical Forest event - chaotic yet entertaining, crowded and very smoky! David Hockney's presence, alongside the likes of Joe Jackson, Trevor Baylis, Claire Fox and others, was a bonus.

Andrew's response was characteristic and to the point:

Are pics from the night going up on the website? It would be good to show people we had a good time on Monday night.

The next Forest event he attended was at the House of Commons exactly a year after the introduction of the smoking ban in England.

By now Andrew had offered to write occasional pieces for The Free Society (an offshoot of Forest) but his first contribution, about extreme video games, unnerved me a bit.

It introduced me to a world I knew nothing about and forced me to admit that I probably wasn't a libertarian – well, not in the Andrew Ian Dodge mould. (See Freedom has its limits.)

Occasionally he would comment on this blog. A fairly typical comment, in response to a post about a Labour government advisor proposing that anyone who wanted to buy tobacco should have to buy a permit to do so, was:

Crypto-fascist idiocy is the first thing that comes to mind. Second thing is that this government will take everything they can; preferably twice.

He moved back to America with his wife Kim a few years ago. He would mention his illness on Facebook from time to time and the prognosis wasn't good.

A quick glance at his Facebook page – where he posted a final message to be published after his death – shows just how many friends he made on both sides of the Atlantic.

See also: Andrew Ian Dodge - writer, US state candidate, musician – dies at 46 (Breitbart News).

Update on Monday, August 4, 2014 at 8:44 by Simon Clark

Another acquaintance died of cancer last week.

Sally Farmiloe was a familiar name to readers of the Daily Mail. A former actress (she once had a small part in Howard's Way), she was a gregarious socialite who organised a large number of charity events.

I can't remember how we met but we did and in 1995 I asked her to help organise a ball at St Ermin's Hotel in London.

It was a modest affair. Our special guest was Vicki Michelle, the extremely charming star of 'Allo 'Allo and a friend of Sally's, but we considered it a success and the following year we organised another one at the Cafe Royal in Regent Street.

On each occasion Sally invited another good friend – Jeffrey Archer – to present the raffle and as I recall he did a great job having arrived hot foot from other events elsewhere in London.

In 1999 a tabloid revealed that Sally and Lord Archer had been having an affair but you wouldn't have known. They were very discreet!

Unfortunately news of the affair stuck to Sally and she was portrayed as a bit of a bimbo (or "scarlet woman", as she put it). Truth is, she was smart and funny and worked extremely hard to earn a living to bring up her daughter.

She married, raised money for cancer charities and had small acting roles on stage in London and on tour.

We lost contact a long time ago but for the short period we worked together it was a lot of fun.