I was once privileged to work with David Nobbs (Obituary, 11 August) on material for a comedy revue at the Three Choirs Festival in Hereford. Two moments from that time stand out clearly. One illustrates that not only was he a great comic writer but also a generous and supportive friend. I showed him a sketch I’d written called Firkin Fair, based on invented but completely nonsensical local folklore. I could have asked for no higher praise when he told me – and I believe he was sincere – he wished he’d written it himself.
The other occasion was when he was suddenly taken ill in a restaurant with what appeared to be a heart attack (it turned out not to be serious). As he was carried out on a stretcher, still fully conscious, he was heard to mutter to some newly arriving customers: “Don’t have the fish!” He never missed an opportunity for a laugh.
David Thomas
Hereford