Diamond Geezer

So very very sad to hear this news. Roger was the lifeblood of comps on here and I had lots of lovely interaction with him over the years. Rest in peace Diamond Geezer
 
So sad to hear this. Although I never met Roger in person I often exchanged emails and messages with him about the various competitions on here, he seemed a lovely man and gave a lot of his time to this forum - he will be sadly missed.

My thoughts are with his friends and family. Rest In Peace, Roger
 
Grey said:
Very sad news. I never met Roger, but we were in frequent contact regarding the various competitions. He was very conscientious and efficient, and between them he and Faye (NewApproach) have made a great success of running the main Ante Post and Ten To Follow competitions, and also some smaller ones marking the bigger meetings. He also initiated a Caption Please thread that provided a lot of entertainment. It goes without saying that he will be a big loss here.

Regarding this year's Ten To Follow competition, it has run aground owing to Roger's illness. As a tribute to him I will take on to calculate the final scores, of the main contenders at least, and get the job finished. I think it is what he would want.

Rest In Peace, Roger
Click to expand...

Thank you, that’s a really kind gesture. I was actually thinking that we should name any future competition in his name and maybe have some sort of trophy which could be engraved? I invariably get a couple of trophies organised every year for the Wessex Point to Point Awards and they’ not expensive. But it would be a nice lasting memory. The Diamond Geezer NH Ten to Follow.
 
Roger and I go back more than 20 years. Our paths first crossed when he took over the tipping competition I used to run on the long since gone 'Neigh' website.

He has been an absolute stalwart on here for a lot of years, and his competitions kept us entertained year after year. He put so much hard work and effort into them, all for our benefit. He gave us all so much, wanting nothing in return.

The remarkable thing with Roger was he never gambled. He never had a single penny on any horse. His involvement was simply for the love of the sport. He loved every part of it.

It's so sad that for the last two years he and his wife had been shielding, and weren't able to do the things they always used to do. If you ever wanted to find Roger up until then you could pretty much wander up to Cheltenham Racecourse and he wouldn't be far away. He lost the first-hand involvement with his first love because of the pandemic.

As Jinny says he had a fall and a few complications, and sadly they found and inoperable brain tumour. His passing wasn't unexpected, but for these last few months he was already leaving a big hole in the Forum because he was unable to contribute.

He was a lovely man that I'll miss a lot. And I feel so sad that he's gone.
 
Last edited:
I did not know Roger. We never spoke. But I can get a true measure of the man - someone who was well-loved and deeply respected - from the comments from those on this forum that knew him.

RIP
 
chaumi said:
I did not know Roger. We never spoke. But I can get a true measure of the man - someone who was well-loved and deeply respected - from the comments from those on this forum that knew him.

RIP
Click to expand...

Yes, it really is lovely seeing the tributes from all those here who knew him in life or via the forum. It is a pleasure to belong to such a caring and friendly community and it’s clear that Roger was a prime mover in moulding it to be so.
 
Sorry to hear this, Diamond Geezer was a very active forumite over the years. He was the mortar between the bricks on here and will be missed.
 
jinnyj said:
Thank you, that’s a really kind gesture. I was actually thinking that we should name any future competition in his name and maybe have some sort of trophy which could be engraved? I invariably get a couple of trophies organised every year for the Wessex Point to Point Awards and they’ not expensive. But it would be a nice lasting memory. The Diamond Geezer NH Ten to Follow.
Click to expand...

I think that's a lovely idea, I'd be happy to contribute to a trophy (and could help to do the competition)
 
jinnyj said:
It is with the biggest regret that I have to report that Roger sadly passed away yesterday morning aged 72. As many of you know from his last post, he had suffered a fall and further issues were found.

He was the most wonderful contributor to this forum organising the best competitions. I did have the pleasure of meeting him and he was as nice in person as on here. A wealth of racing knowledge and just an all round good guy. DG the place will miss you more than you will ever know.
Click to expand...

This is very sad news. I may be a newbie to this forum, but I know how important and ingrained he was here. It is always tough losing a member of a community - especially one so dear. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.
 
I am so sad to hear this. I never met him either but we communicated off forum for many years. He was a huge help in a personal situation I had going on a few years ago, as well as going out of his way to get a pic of my beloved mare, before I owned her , when she came over from Ireland. I was so grateful to him.
All thoughts with his wife, family and friends. He will be sorely missed here too.
 
Grey said:
Very sad news. I never met Roger, but we were in frequent contact regarding the various competitions. He was very conscientious and efficient, and between them he and Faye (NewApproach) have made a great success of running the main Ante Post and Ten To Follow competitions, and also some smaller ones marking the bigger meetings. He also initiated a Caption Please thread that provided a lot of entertainment. It goes without saying that he will be a big loss here.

Regarding this year's Ten To Follow competition, it has run aground owing to Roger's illness. As a tribute to him I will take on to calculate the final scores, of the main contenders at least, and get the job finished. I think it is what he would want.

Rest In Peace, Roger
Click to expand...

It was extremely generous of him to put the time in to run the competitions. If you need any help with spreadsheet formulas etc. to help in calculating the results for the latest competition or for managing any future competitions then let me know.

Perhaps if there is enough interest we could do a paid entry comp for the next NH season between this forum and a few others that DG frequented with half of the money going to his family.
 
Sad news
TRF would like to extend our condolences
Roger was a diamond geezer alright.
I messaged him a quite a few times over the years on here. I asked him about doing a TRF v Talkinghorses inter forum competition on Champions Day but wasn't too sure how to go about it. He told me to leave it to him and he provide a great friendly rivalry competition between the two forums
One of our members has said it would be nice to have another one this year in memory of Roger.
Rest in peace, Roger
 
jinnyj said:
It is with the biggest regret that I have to report that Roger sadly passed away yesterday morning aged 72. As many of you know from his last post, he had suffered a fall and further issues were found.

He was the most wonderful contributor to this forum organising the best competitions. I did have the pleasure of meeting him and he was as nice in person as on here. A wealth of racing knowledge and just an all round good guy. DG the place will miss you more than you will ever know.
Click to expand...

So very, very sorry to hear this news.

Roger/DG was an absolute stalwart of this (and other) forum(s), and whilst I never had the pleasure of meeting him face-to-face, he was always one of the "good guys" of the online racing community.

My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.
 
Deeply saddened to read this news. As with many others I never had the pleasure of meeting Roger personally, but he was beyond kind and responsive to any personal request for assistance. He was just a rock solid, no frills, personable, dependable and likeable human being.

To stretch an analogy - I always think of the C4 precursor to this forum as a 'Trumpian' world, no structure, no manners, truth didn't matter, insult prevailed. Now we are all still here, enjouying each other's (mainly virtual) company like decent adults. I always think it was Roger more than most who steered us to these calmer waters.

Ar dheis De go raibh ar anam.
 
I just logged on for some reason, as summers are not common for me on the forum.

This is immensley sad. I exchanged messages and email with Roger over the year

His work on the forum, seeking no praise was immense

It will be unusual without him being the first to publish the decs instantly or the racing news straight from the PA

Go easy Roger, you made my 15+ years on the forum the more enjoyable
 
DG was built in with the bricks and someone I took for granted and expected to be here forever
never thinking or knowing what age he was or have any idea about his state of health.
He was the man who kept us up to date and alerted us when the decs came out along with other important news
When he posted he always immediately grabbed my attention and I am sure that of many others.
He made life so much easier for us around here and will be sadly missed
Condolences to his family and all who knew him as a friend R.I.P.
 
Oh no - so sorry to hear about Roger - DG was indeed a great stalwart and it was he who told me about Lord H’s passing only a little while ago . A kind, thoughtful and very likeable man always looking to do things for others . Condolences to his family.
 
I am very sorry about Roger. his contribution to the forum was immense.

With the deaths of Lord H, DG and our administrator Colin, it has been a rough few months for the forum community.
 
Back
Top