Comment: Farewell to Nemo

It is with a sad heart that Optician has to report the death of Nemo. The genesis of the column with the name of 'nobody' arose following an encounter in the Bush House restaurant in London's Kingsway. As Geoffrey Leigh would recount to me some 45 years later, in an eatery just a few doors away, he was astounded by the invitation made to him.

The then editor, Bill Hardy, invited Leigh to write a weekly column in The Optician. Leigh responded that he wasn't a journalist, couldn't write, and may be compromised by any frank commentary. To salve those qualms, anonymity was decided upon. And as for the writing? Leigh said Hardy leant over and simply said: 'Short sentences, old boy, short sentences.'