As Taplow and the world says goodbye to Sir Terry Wogan, Emily Horton hails a cabbie with affectionate knowledge of the man behind the myth
Stop all the clocks, urged The Times back in 2009, when Wake Up to Wogan lost its eponymous presenter. “Cut off the telephone, for Sir Terry has farewelled the microphone.”
Indeed he had; and now, to a national chorus of lament, he has farewelled this life altogether: the gentle knight of Taplow scythed down by cancer in a joust that was secret and short.
Everyone, it seems, is feeling the loss, from the Queen in her palace to all the common men and women for whom, down the stealthy years, Terry Wogan was the fanfare of the dawn.
Ask Mason McQueen. As the London cab driver who worked with Terry on his final TV series, Terry and Mason’s Great Food Trip, he knows better than most the quality of the man whose velvet tones held generations in thrall.
“He was a great friend to the nation,” he reflects. “He possessed the great knack of talking to the masses while giving the impression that he was speaking to you personally. His passing has been like a death in the family.”
Windsor Magazine March 2016
Mason and Terry teamed up last summer for the BBC2 show, which saw Mason drive his famous passenger to 20 different British towns to sample the local specialities. Their mutual capacity for getting on with the great and the good created a bond that made for irresistible TV. Banter flowed between them like water, with perhaps a hint of something stronger thrown in.
“He was such a youthful man with a really sunny disposition,” recalls Mason. “In the five months we worked together we had so much fun. How could you not, when he was so witty, funny and warm?
“I would say to him: ‘Gosh Terry, you were on the telly three days a week back in the day – brainwashing us you were!’ But I couldn’t outdo him – he’d always come straight back with some better, smarter remark. He was highly intelligent, but he would never let on.
“After our first day of filming, I returned home to be told by my wife that I had started to speak like him! That’s the effect he had on people: you just wanted to emulate him.”
Despite visiting up to six places a day during filming, the septuagenarian never flagged. His drive and energy deeply impressed Mason, who was treated to a communication masterclass.
“Terry spoke of the need to be a good listener, as well as a good talker, and I admired his great empathy with the people we met along the way. He knew the names of the whole crew too.
“At the same time, the fact that he managed to keep his family life private brought him great respect. People admired him for drawing a line between work and home.”
When the Great Food Trip rolled into Marlow, however, the veil before the sanctuary was temporarily removed, as Terry invited Mason and his wife to stay.
“Helen, his wife, is a lovely lady. She cooked a fabulous three-course meal and Terry made me a few of his legendary Martinis. My wife told me after each drink that I’d had enough, and to behave.
“But white wine with this, red wine with that, apéritifs, digestifs...we had such a great night.
“Of course, it was quite surreal waking up in the Wogan home the next day. He had a beautiful house filled with photos of his children and grandchildren, as well as pictures of him and his work in the study.
“His family was his focus. He loved them all so very much. Terry and Helen had just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in the April.”
A brief pause before the flow of recollection resumes.
“The show was the best thing I have ever done. I will really miss Terry. Thanks to him, I might very well be the only London cabbie who enjoys PG Wodehouse and Martinis!”
“I’m so honoured to have been included in just a couple of pages at the end of his great life story. What a special man!”
- For local reaction to the death of Sir Terry read on....
BBC Pictures/Andy Sheppard
WHAT THE LOCAL SAY IN TRIBUTE...
Nicky Hutchinson, Manager of Thames Valley Playground for disabled children and adults in Taplow:
Thames Valley Playground
“Terry supported us right from the start, back in 1982. As busy as he was, he would always endeavour to come to see us here on Bath Road.
“His last visit was just last summer for a ‘Tea with Terry’ fundraising event, which went down a storm. Another time he paid a surprise visit to share with the children a huge birthday cake.
“Even when he couldn’t visit, he would mention our events on his shows. You couldn’t hope for a more genuine person, and we are all so sad that he is no longer with us.”
Andrew Strathdee, Chair of the Friends of Burnham Library, of which Sir Terry had been patron since 2009:
“Terry lent his name to events, presented prizes for our arts competitions and was always very approachable and kind. At the last festival he spoke seriously about the power of community as beneficial in people’s lives.
“He also joked about proud parents taking pictures of him with their children – he suspected that the little ones had no idea who he was.”
Enjoy a dose of the endearing Wogan blarney with Emily Horton's May 2015 interview...
