5 Feet of Fury

UK columnist, ‘Billy Liar’ author Keith Waterhouse dies, aged 80

From the Daily Mail:

When he mentioned in his column that he was finding it increasingly difficult to obtain ribbons for his ancient, battered typewriter – it was always a typewriter, never a newfangled laptop – they poured into the Daily Mail from all over the country.

The thought that Keith may have to stop writing for want of a typewriter ribbon was too awful to contemplate. Within days, he had enough to last a lifetime.

Though he was acutely aware of his own great talents and enjoyed his success, he didn’t seek fame or wallow in the trappings.

In Who’s Who, he listed his only hobby as ‘lunch’. (…) ‘Drink’ would have been a more appropriate title.