The death of a virtual, yet also very real, person I knew

Anyone who follows Liberal Democrat users of twitter will have found out today about the death of Andrew Reeves at the tragically young age of 43. Well liked and respected across the UK he would have been amused to see that he was trending on Twitter for a large part of the day.

There are already many online tributes to Andy (two of my favourites are here and here), all from people who knew him personally and loved him. I find myself in the rather strange emotional place of losing contact with someone I liked yet never actually met in person. I have exchanged many comments with him on twitter, read and commented on his blog, following parts of his life with his passioned commentary for the Edinburgh Capitals ice hockey team and his almost daily photos on blipfoto as well as for a large part of last year knowing where he was thanks to foursquare (I think he stopped using that when he became the mayor of pretty much everywhere). Just three days ago were chatting on twitter about him moving flat and how, as cat owners, both he and I had to be clear about their indoor nature when speaking to potential new landlords. I had also had a quick discussion with him about volunteering for the party when my flat move to Edinburgh was completed.

Many other have highlighted the same story on his blog on why he got married earlier this year and my first thoughts were heartfelt sorrow for how his husband Rodger must be feeling and sadness for all his friends and family who are going to miss a person that has clearly touched so many lives.

I am really disappointed that I did know him any better than I did, that it was always a computer or phone screen that told me what he was thinking, what he was doing and where he was. His death has reminded me that as good as social media is for linking with people and getting to know people there is still something extra to human relationships that cannot be replicated. I don’t even know what the sound of his voice was like.

Goodbye Andrew, all of us who knew you in some way or another are hurting right now.

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