This weekend brought the very sad news that Dave Rainford has passed away. Many of you reading this will know 'Tremendous Knowledge' Dave from the TVs Eggheads, a team he joined in 2012. But many more readers may have been lucky enough to meet Dave on the quizzing circuit where his presence will now be sorely missed.
The outpouring of affection, stories of the man himself and personal tributes have been far and wide this weekend, from all corners of the quizzing community. Indeed, I hope these tributes give some comfort to the family to whom my thoughts are with.
On a personal level, I first met Dave in around 2011/2012 at one of my first quizzing GP events. Dave sought me out, greeted me and made sure I felt welcomed and settled. This was typical of the man himself. Always had time for anybody and the moment he started talking to you, he spoke to you as if he had known you years. Dave was a reader of the blog and spoke very kind words to me on that day.
The next time I met Dave, was when I went to film Eggheads in 2013. I was glad to see Dave on the opposing team, and indeed was honoured to compete against him in my head to head. After a tense tiebreak he defeated me, but was full of praise and encouragement. For someone I had only met once before, he remembered my support for Sunderland. Everyone who knew Dave knew he was a passionate Manchester United fan, and football was always a keen subject to chat about and his knowledge and passion for the game was unrivalled.
Dave kept in touch, both online and in person and I was one of the many many people to receive both praise and commiserations from him. When I had a particularly good finish in a quiz event, the first person to message was Dave, congratulating me. The same was true when I had a poor performance in the 15 to 1 Final and Dave sent a supportive voice message, as he did when I announced online that I was going to be a father.
Reading the tributes online over the weekend makes it clear, that Dave in one way or another touched many peoples lives. He never had a bad word to say about anyone, always had time to lend a ear or share a pint. I don't think using the term "the nicest man in quiz" has ever been more suitable. Like many I listened back to the voice messages this weekend and raised a glass, as I re-watched our Eggheads show.
RIP Dave Rainford.
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