The John Griff column: Is 2024 to be the year of departures?

From behind the microphone, I recall a certain sense of dread as, on an almost daily basis, more were added to our on-air obituaries. The BBC’s output of pre-prepared scripts went up by over 50%. Who were we going to announce next? The two certainties in life are death and taxes and both are already topics for the forthcoming and now imminent General Election. But away from such terminal certainties, there is another kind of departure akin to death which applies very much to people in the public eye at whatever level and in whatever sphere. It is this – departure. It can be as devastating not only for the individual, but their supporters, families, fans and followers too. Could 2024 prove to be as many high-profile departures as 2016 did for deaths?

Of course, just as with actual death, not all departures are unexpected. When the Queen Mother died in 2002, I recall vividly that she did so on a Saturday. On Saturdays, most newsrooms are largely devoid of journalists and the kind that remain are generally the sports kind, unaccustomed to royal departures, even anticipated ones. After a mad scramble to get resources into offices, the reporting of her demise was respectful, unsensational and talked of a life well lived - which it was. The Queen Mum left us quietly, privately – almost stylishly so. To a lesser degree the same could be said of the now late Queen Elizabeth and also Prince Philip. But for more secular celebrities today the story is different – and whether there is mud to be stirred up and thrown or not, there are papers to sell, audience figures to attract and penetration of the market to achieve, 24/7. What’s more – we the audience demand and contribute to the lust for it. Small wonder, therefore, that with every individual departure these days there is a plea for everyone – everyone – to respect the privacy of those who remain, whoever they might be.

The same is becoming the case with departures. When you think of high-profile people in this county who have either bowed out, been voted out, been ejected, quit or otherwise left the posts and pedestals from which they took their noteworthiness in the public eye, the list is long. The posts and pedestals might remain – but it’s almost as though a generation of high-profile individuals has made it’s departure en masse. Without naming names or passing comment (you’ll know who I mean I’m sure), we’ve seen change in our Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, a former Leader of West Northamptonshire Council, a former Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police Force, a number of local Councillors on both sides of the county, and what will be the majority of Northamptonshire’s MPs at the aforementioned General Election. It’s telling that of that list, most of the departures on it have not really been what you could call celebratory. But neither are they revolutionary either. Some are evolutionary and some could certainly have been foreseen. It’s true to say too that although the individuals have departed, those associated with them either personally or professionally will have been equally affected, possibly by association or perhaps contractually. They might now reasonably be seen to be in need of support every bit as much as their principals, if not more so. Will they find it? It’s harder to predict, but I hope that it will be forthcoming where required and that privacy can be afforded them too, so that they can heal, regroup and rebuild within their own circles. They will not necessarily be known to us as the public and perhaps because of it, we should do more to protect and support them.

On Monday of this week there was a final opportunity to celebrate a life, give clear support to a family and give thanks for one who supported many from the wider community. I have written before about the county’s former Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff, David Laing, CBE. He left us earlier in the year having retired in 2020 from what is a truly significant role as the monarch’s personal representative in the county. Every county in the country has one and following David’s departure from that role James Saunders Watson has emerged as a highly competent, caring and effective replacement. David’s departure from the role came four years before his demise – he had taken it up in 2014. A passionate supporter of sport and the arts, he also devoted himself to supporting local community groups, causes and more. In 2006 he came close to death as a driver of historic racing cars during a race at Silverstone, losing the use of a number of fingers as a result. When I asked him about it in interview, he was almost matter of fact about it, but his redoubtable wife Mary had understood the severity of his brush with mortality and suggested to him that if he wished to see his grandchildren grow up, he might consider foregoing future pursuits. Those grandchildren were on hand to participate in a packed All Saints Church as David’s memorial service proceeded. Although not a celebrity by today’s tabloid standards, his was a life – and contribution – which we can and should celebrate. Mercifully, this year the state did so by awarding him his CBE which he lived long enough to receive from Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal. Monday was a day for personal celebration and pride in one who in life did so much for others – and who in death will undoubtedly continue to do so via the charitable foundation which bears his name. I liked him immensely and from the turnout at All Saints, so did a great many others.

David Laing’s departure was a loss when it came earlier in the year – but a departure which leaves much for us to look up to and even emulate in our turn. It would be a fitting tribute to him.