It is with great sadness that I pass on the news that Les Sayer died peacefully in his sleep on Saturday November 1st.  A veteran of World War II, Les wrote a book called Tag on a Stringbag, Aspen Publications, which is on my shelf.  In later years, Les became a great patron of amateur astronomy. He allowed and encouraged North Essex Astronomical Society (NEAS) to refurbish and re-equip an observatory built on his land originally in the 1980s. You can read about it here

I had the honour of performing the official opening some years ago and the observatory has gone from strength to strength. Nikki, my wife, and I extend our condolences to Val his widow, whose own enthusiasm for the club matches Les’s, and to all his friends in NEAS.