I first met Mike at a conference at the University of East Anglia around 1998, although we didn’t realise that until months after I started at Lincoln. He and Tony were on my interview panel in 2000 and I am eternally grateful for the life-changing opportunity they gave me. Mike was my induction mentor, and I immediately became aware of his generosity as a colleague, giving freely of his time to guide me through the intricacies of University procedures, sharing teaching materials, and providing amicable gossip about who was who. In addition to working closely together on modules, course development, and assessment, we shared offices for a decade, having quickly become firm friends. I learnt a huge amount from him in addition to media theory and educational matters; I admired his irrepressible enthusiasm for television dramas, Mini cars, Apple computers, and vintage cameras, and will never forget the excitement with which he first told me about eBay. Mike was a superb acting deputy head of school, and sometimes unofficially de facto head—incredibly hardworking, committed, and always thoughtful, cheerful and compassionate. I remember the thankless task of timetabling that he carried out so efficiently, even if I never forgave him for the year I had a class every Friday from 5.00 to 7.00 p.m. as a result of having to fit the new Film and Television degree into the system. I missed him hugely after his retirement but we were able to meet for lunch occasionally. Tony and I spent a wonderful day with Mike in Lincoln after his illness had been diagnosed and his treatment anticipated early last autumn, just walking around chatting, drinking too much coffee, catching up on old times, and swapping ideas and venting prejudices about everything under the sun. Under the circumstances he was really upbeat and positive and determined to live life as normally and to the full as his energy allowed. Tony and I are privileged to have a memory of those warm, sunny hours in Mike’s company. I never did get to show him around the antique shops of Horncastle, the anticipation of which he relished. I agree with what everyone has so eloquently written. Mike was funny, clever, intellectually curious, sometimes ironical, always grounded, and a true gent. My condolences to Tracey and Annie