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I noticed yesterday that after a long absence from TSE, Gayot Fow deleted his personal blog as well, I feel sad but obviously its his personal decision.

That blog was a link people were using lately to reach him. A few days ago in a comment he mentioned that there has been a significant change in his life and his blog's future is in doubt.

I find no other way to contact Gayot and let him know that I'm incredibly thankful for the information that he has always provided here and then lately on his blog to help random individuals unknown to him. This goes without saying for all members for the community that provide helpful answers but specially to Gayot.

TSE was there before you started contributing, TSE will remain here after you but it will never be the same!

Thank you!

Update 2018-06-27

I'm deeply saddened to learn that Gayot Fow is no longer with us and has passed away on 27th June 2018. I wish he rests in peace and i pray for his family's well being. I am certain that the TSE community joins me in sending their condolences to his family if they ever read this post.

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In tribute:

GayotFow*, Georg Fuchs, homo universalis
Linguist, literati, litigant, legislator
Viaggiatore, Путешественник, coddiwompler
Humanist, polymath, polymorph
муж, отец, друг

Citizen of the universe, cloud denizen, soaring now above the storm, eternal rider of the undulatus asperatus, relishing an eternity of flight, travelling at the speed of light.

Still round the corner, there may wait, a new road or a secret gate.**

So long
Farewell
Auf wiedersehen
до свидания друг

There is freedom waiting for you on the breezes of the sky***

*“Rep begets rep”
**J. R. R. Tolkien
***Erin Hanson

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    @HankyPanky GayotFow shuffled off this mortal coil last night, 27 June, and this was my promise to him, composed by me, but oblique and reviewed by him in true Gayot fashion.
    – Giorgio
    Commented Jun 28, 2018 at 20:01
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    I'm sorry to seem blunt, but to avoid any misunderstandings of language, are you saying that Gayot has died?
    – MadHatter
    Commented Jun 28, 2018 at 20:50
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    @MadHatter yes (and no problem for asking); he died yesterday.
    – Giorgio
    Commented Jun 28, 2018 at 20:55
  • O, God. Thanks for letting us know. If you know his family and friends, please pass on my condolences. I'll miss him.
    – MadHatter
    Commented Jun 28, 2018 at 21:06
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    @MadHatter I certainly will (he has a young family, wife and son, as well as several adult children). During the long struggle with his illness, for reasons I don't comprehend, he decided to remove himself from the internet (deleting his blog etc).
    – Giorgio
    Commented Jun 28, 2018 at 21:23
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    I've felt really sad after a long time today. May he RIP and may his family get all the courage and support to bear the loss.
    – Hanky Panky
    Commented Jun 29, 2018 at 6:47
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    I got the news yesterday, it made me extremely sad until now. May his soul rest in peace.
    – Nean Der Thal
    Commented Jun 29, 2018 at 10:09
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    @Giorgio If you are terminally ill (like my mother who is dead now for years), you do not want any onlookers. It is hard enough to have the family and friends who are still hoping against hope and refuse to believe that it is over (yes, many people do know beforehand that they will die).
    – Thorsten S.
    Commented Jun 29, 2018 at 22:29
  • @MadHatter the phrase is well known from the famous to be or not to be soliloquy, spoken by the title character in Shakespeare's Hamlet.
    – phoog
    Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 3:45
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    @phoog many thanks for that, but I know where it comes from. I just wanted to be absolutely sure that it wasn't being misused before concluding that Gayot had died, hence "to avoid any misunderstandings".
    – MadHatter
    Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 4:13
  • @MadHatter I largely posted it for the benefit of anyone who didn't know where it came from. I myself had forgotten its origin, since it had become more closely associated in my mind (erroneously, it seems) with John Cleese's eulogy for Graham Chapman (in fact, its Monty Python association is through the dead parrot sketch, written by Cleese and Chapman). I am certainly supportive of any efforts to avoid misunderstandings, as I imagine Gayot Fow would be.
    – phoog
    Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 16:56
  • @phoog I do apologise, I should have realised that. Thank you for adding to the general illumination level!
    – MadHatter
    Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 19:23
  • Oh, wow. I knew Gayot left the site but only saw this today. Very sad .
    – jcm
    Commented Sep 13, 2018 at 21:34
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I learned of Gayot Fow's demise yesterday, since I do not lately spend much time in chat, and I have never spent much time here in meta. Like many of you, I was profoundly saddened by the news.

I cannot say that I was surprised, however. Gayot Fow and I had a few extended chats, including after he had withdrawn from TSE, but before his blog was removed. These last chats, in particular, left me with a feeling that he was perhaps tying up loose ends, especially because they included some fairly gratuitous kind words directed at me. We also spoke at greater length of his earlier life and past adventures, such as his service as a volunteer tour guide at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, where I once sang in a concert.

So when his blog disappeared, and the news came through this question that he faced "a significant change in his life," I feared the worst. I regret not expressing more curiosity about his later life and circumstances, for I now find myself with numerous questions about who he was, that I had assumed would be answered at some point, but now probably never will.

Perhaps most relevant to TSE, I had been thinking about asking him about possible future UK visa application for my mother in law, but I had decided to wait until she actually planned to return to the UK, so now I will have to look elsewhere for that advice.

Like others, I learned a tremendous amount from him, and always appreciated his spirit. Chat has been nowhere near as entertaining since he left.

For these reasons and more, I will miss him.

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  • Thank you for sharing that!
    – Hanky Panky
    Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 18:18
  • well shared and well put
    – Mark Mayo
    Commented Jul 11, 2018 at 1:15
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Gayot, thank you. Your factual contributions to the site were immense and will continue to have a lasting impact, and I hope you come back someday.

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The fact that @hanky made this post to thank Gayot and the fact that people who like Gayot have responded, makes it all clear -- Gayot left a very strong impression.

The other fact, which is: people who do not like Gayot have responded too, confirms that he really left a very strong impression to the point that they bothered to come and respond.

Personally, I have learned a lot from Gayot, including improving my English, how to answer properly and a lot more.

Thank you Gayot, and even if you will not come here again, your answers have set the standards for TSE, so you are here whether you actually login to the site or not.

Note: I confirm that the blog wasn't deleted by Gayot. All of the content had been reproduced here anyway.

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  • If the blog wasn't deleted by Gayot, who deleted it?
    – phoog
    Commented Jul 9, 2018 at 22:06
  • @phoog It wasn't deleted by him, that's what he told me. I did not ask by whom.
    – Nean Der Thal
    Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 16:52
  • Thanks for the response. I had asked him about it by adding a comment to a Stack Overflow answer he had posted, but although he did visit that site after I posted the comment, he never replied. :-(
    – phoog
    Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 16:54
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I have only been here a short while but I was also impressed with the time and effort Gayot put in their answers - especially when quoting official sources and references.

I always assumed they were employed by the UK Government given the accuracy of their answers.

It is indeed a loss for the community.

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  • "a short while"? Your profile is two months older than Gayot Fow's.
    – phoog
    Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 17:16
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    Time is relative =)
    – Burhan Khalid
    Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 17:25
  • Yes, it is indeed.
    – phoog
    Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 17:27
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Rest In Peace, Gayot Fow and thank you for your contribution.

As the other answers already indicated, Gayot Fow was polarizing. On one hand he provided extremely valuable and detailed answers, on the other hand there were many clashes with other users.

I would like to say that we are humans, in general we do not take the role of pure villains or heroes. Some people we befriend, some people we despise. We do good things and we do injustice to others. Gayot left his mark here, leaving very different impressions.

But the most important thing to say whatever happened, it is now a heap of unpaid bills. Gayot Fow is no longer with us anymore, there is nothing more to do or say which leaves me (and I think many others) quite sad. What is left is his legacy of travel advise and people will remember him for it.

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I never met him. I never knew who he was. But now I miss him.

RIP Gayot

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