Pete McCarthy dies

One of the most entertaining nights I've spent out in the last few years was an evening watching Pete McCarthy, the Brighton based travel writer, talking about his books and proving a highly witty, likeable and talented man. Victoria knew him previously from Travelog, and read both of his books, McCarthy's Bar and The Road to McCarthy, both of which were hugely entertaining (I remember from hearing him read them). So it's an enormous shame to read that, eight months after being diagnosed with cancer and at the age of 51, he died on Wednesday in the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton. Watching him talk and read from his books his connection with the audience was immediate and crystal-clear, frequently reducing the entire room to helpless fits of laughter or else unanimous nods of recognition; and he will be greatly missed.

BBC NEWS Travel writer Pete McCarthy dies