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Well, what can one say! 61 is too young. Alan was a dear and as David has said here, enthusiastic and dedicated. I will remember him with great affection and he (as has David) has always been most encouraging and supporting of me. He will be missed. Loretto -----Original Message----- From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff. [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of David Laycock Sent: 09 January 2004 09:22 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Alan Muller Those who remember Alan will be sad to hear that he collapsed and died outside his home on Wednesday afternoon. He was 61 and had been an enthusuastic player in the sector throughout the nineties until ill health forced him to take early retirement. At a time when disability support services are taken for granted (even if they don't get all the support they would like) Alan's experience is a stark reminder of how things were just a few years ago. He'd done a range of physically demanding jobs until his health began to decline in his forties. He described himself as a late developer educationally and it was while he was on a degree course at Middlesex around 1989 that he noticed a fellow student was blind. Despite his own difficulties, it grieved him that there was virtually no support available for her so he set about investigating talking books, recording lectures etc. When the course ended he made Middlesex an offer they could scarcely refuse, namely to set up a disability support service for the price of an office and phone line. To fund the service he set up a charity called The Able Centre but his success in '93 and '94 with bids for HEFCE funding finally made him legitimate in the eyes of the University and he was transferred to payroll. From here on there was no stopping him. He rescued a sign language bureau on point of closure by buying it off an LEA for £1, then went after Access Centre status. I followed him every step of the way and shared his frustration each time he thought he had his premises settled only to find they vanished in the University's various space saving exercises. Finally he succeeded but the increased workload alongside his still declining health proved too much and he was forced to retire on health grounds. Not that that meant fireside and carpet slippers. He never lost his interest in disability support which he regarded as the most worthwhile phase of his life despite being all too short. He was an adviser on building adaptations for a group of architects working for a Jewish charity, and only on Monday of this week we attended an IT trainers training day together. On our way home he commented that he would just have time for a rest and something to eat before attending the fitness committee of his local gym, of which he was chair (of course) and fitness programme organiser. Like everything he did, he did it with passion. Dave Laycock Head of CCPD Chair of NADO Computer Centre for People with Disabilities University of Westminster 72 Great Portland Street London W1N 5AL tel. 020 7911-5161 fax. 020 7911-5162 WWW home page: http://www.wmin.ac.uk/ccpd/