I was struck to hear of Simon’s passing. Like many others, I was fortunate to have him as an English teacher for several years where he managed to bring texts to life and bring the best out of his students. Although I (erroneously) didn’t take English to A level, Simon and I often spoke about poetry. He introduced me to Auden’s ‘Shield of Achilles’ which is still a favourite of mine. He also introduced me to Elizabeth Jennings and we exchanged some of our own poems. I always felt very fortunate that he trusted me to provide comment on his work given how juvenile mine was at the time. We exchanged a couple of messages on LinkedIn last year as I changed jobs and he wanted to understand my new role in more detail. We had promised to keep in touch better and exchange more poems. Sending my sympathies to his family and friends. He was a warm, supportive and thoughtful teacher. I shall read some more Auden and Jennings and raise a glass to him.