In the space of just eight months the sustainability movement has lost three leading lights: our own Pamela Hartigan, then earlier this month Malcolm McIntosh and now Ernst Ligteringen.
Pamela didn’t tell me how ill she was until perhaps 5-6 weeks before she died. Malcolm did some years back when he came to see us in Barnes, but we thought he had recovered. The news about Ernst came as a complete surprise to everyone concerned.
I had close working relationships with all three, over extended periods, and it’s amazing how such relationships so often mutate into friendships. But these were three – in Shaw’s sense of the word – unreasonable changemakers.
While there’s a strong sense of loss in terms of the inspiration, conversations and support there might have been, one can only be intensely grateful for the opportunities to get to know and learn from such extraordinary people.
Leave a Reply