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Remembering Erik…
Last Friday (16th Jan) I learnt of the death of Erik Lanigan.
I can't begin to tell you how empty I felt that morning, stood in a ploughed field in Berkshire. The laughing and joking with the site crew evaporated. My mouth lay open and aghast as the news sunk in that someone who I had considered to be a good friend was no longer with us and then further shock that it had been nearly a year before.
I tweeted out the news immediately. It had shaken me.
Erik was a great friend to BTN. He gave generously of his time to all the shows on the network, he was always putting us to shame with his knowledge and professionalism and making us all feel inadequate (and old) to be such a shining star within the tech podcasting community and at such a young age.
Talking to Erik, you definitely felt that you were in conversation with a peer. People often forgot that Erik was a young man in his early 20s and his demeanour was certainly not that of someone fresh out of college. His knowledge and due diligence on stories was unmatched by most of the BTN crew who regularly Rolls Royced up to a show and just started.
One of the proudest moments I have of the whole of my time providing BTN is when Erik said to me about his time with us that he 'loved coming on because he always felt he could just be himself'. A laid back Erik was still streets ahead of anything I ever had to provide to shows.
After about an hour on Friday, tweets started to come to me.
@JackieHern - "I was in the same university as Erik, he was in the same "local music" scene as my circle. I'm devastated to hear this news"
@PaulWheatley - "Incredibly sad to hear the news of @eriklanigan passing away, he was a great guy. So very sad."
@SoliamSays - 'The one News article I could have done without this morning"
@NathanChantrell - "That's so sad. He was one of my favourite guests on the big show, often wondered if you would ever get him back on"
@PaulShadwell - "Wow! Shocked, surprised and sad."
@ChristopherW - "If you're in contact please pass on our combined condolences, we all feel the loss"
@MarkSheppard - "He was such a young, vital person. So sad."
@RichHarkness - "So sad and so odd this news has taken this long to come out. I remember thinking last year I wondered where he was"
@SarahJaneUK - "Been shocked by this news. Such a waste of a talented young man."
@Coragrace - "How Sad...what I do know is that he was a great tech reporter & podcaster"
And there were far more.
I have spoken to Erik's Father and he would love to hear your recollections, stories, anecdotes and comments regarding Erik. I would therefore offer this post up as a "Book of Condolence" and will pass this link to his Dad so that he can come and see the esteem in which Erik was held and the fond memories which he gave to us all. Please leave your comments/stories to this post.
One of my enduring memories of Erik was that EVERY time I spoke to him, he left me with a smile on my face. I missed him terribly after he stopped coming on BTN and I miss even more now I know he cant return.
Ewen
Author
Ewen Rankin