Great Eccentric

Sir Patrick Moore is one of a dying breed - the great English eccentric.

For many years the great man presented the BBC's 'The Sky at Night' programme - speaking far too quickly and excitedly for the medium he worked in - but that didn't matter a bit.

Even if you didn't understand what he was talking about half the time - it was still   fascinating to watch and listen to a man wearing a monocle for a while - no one else had worn a monocle on TV for years. 

And to be fair to Sir Patrick he kept the flag flying for all things to do with space and astronomy - through good times and bad - until the subjects became sexy and popular again. 

Nowadays Sir Patrick is well into his 80s and others like Professor Brian Cox have rocketed by the eccentric astronomer - presenting new TV programmes with the benefit of computer graphics and images beyond the reach of earlier generations.

But I imagine Professor Cox tips his hat to his famous and elderly predecessor - who for some reason still possesses that most magical of things - star quality in front of the camera.

I enjoyed Sir Patrick's quote in the Sunday Times last week - describing his morning routine:

"I get up, drink my usual four coffees, have a look at the obituaries in The Times and, if I'm not in them, I'll get on with the day's work." 

Now how can that not make you smile?