Adrian Sudbury was a reporter for both the Huddersfield Express and Chronicle Series and the Huddersfield Examiner. In November 2006 the 25-year-old was promoted to digital journalist, effectively editing the new-look Examiner website.
Just two days into his new role he became seriously ill and called in sick. A week later he drove himself to A&E and was eventually diagnosed with leukaemia.
It was then identified that he actually had two distinct types of the disease running at the same time. According to the medical literature he was the only person in the world to have this condition. As such, it was not possible to offer Adrian a prognosis.
Here he shared his experiences of the disease and his treatment up until his passing.Those of you who read the Huddersfield examiner will already know that on Thursday 13 November the newspaper scored a hat trick of successes at the Yorkshire Press Awards 2008 . Katie Campling took top honours for the Campaign of the Year following the stunning impact of " Sign up for Sudders ". Very much the unsung heroine, without her tireless efforts Adrian's legacy would not have a fraction of its potency and we should all be grateful to her for her energy, inventiveness and dogged determination to see through what she and Adie began.
Adrian's colleague Barry Gibson was named columnist of the year. A much deserved accolade for someone who Keith and I only got to know through Adrian's illness but who, like so many other Examiner friends, took the ever increasing bad news about Adrian's prognosis on the chin and never flinched from treating him with the same robust humour throughout his illness which Adie absolutely relished.
Keith and I were at the dinner in order to present the Feature Writer of the Year award which has now been renamed The Adrian Sudbury Feature Writer of the Year. Adie won last year and we were delighted to make the presentation this year to Nick Ahad of the Yorkshire Post , a talented young journalist who produced a fascinating portfolio of work and proved a worthy winner. Imagine our surprise therefore when Adrian was named Journalist of the Year. We were moved to tears by the reaction of his peers . What a wonderful way to mark what he achieved in the last 12 months of his life. We did detect a bit of Sudbury/Eckford mischief however. The Trainee journalist of the Year award went to one Adam Lovell of the Hull Daily Mail. Except that the commendation read out by Look North's Claire Frisby referred to him as Adrian Lovell by mistake. Several times! Hmmmm. Surely a coincidence? Make up your own minds. I know what Keith and I thought about it - and boy did we enjoy a quiet chuckle together!
Previously, Keith and I met the legendary Chesney Hawkes for several beers after watching him perform on the Nottingham leg of " Can't Smile Without You " a musical based around the music of Barry Manilow and very good it is too. Not only is Chesney a lovely, lovely man, he was bowled over by Adrian's story and in particular the significance of " The One and Only�? to all Adie's friends both at University and at Adie's funeral and memorial service.
Also - and at this point you will realise that Keith and I have donned Adrian's metaphorical basque and suspenders to continue his outrageous media tarting - we met up with a young man at the Yorkshire Young Achievers Awards night who has been in all the Harry Potter films playing Neville Longbottom. HP afficionados will know Matthew Lewis well and I am sure you will be delighted to hear that he is also keen to join the band of volunteers going into schools. How super is that? More news on the campaign will be coming shortly so watch this space.....
Right then. Now for a bit of " Mad Mum " whimsy I want to share with you to see if it could be a runner. For reasons too lengthy to go into, after the raffle at Carrie's concert, Adie's famous Paul Smith dressing gown found its way back to me. Adrian loved to travel and it occurred to me when I was on the outside of a significant quantity of a crisp and fruity Sancerre that it might be nice to send his dressing gown from Adrian's Army member to Adrian's Army member around Britain and perhaps then on to Europe, the USA and other countries where there are keen supporters of Adrian's vision. Could we do it do you think? If everyone posted photos on Facebook, we could plot its travels and record its appearance at national monuments or whatever wacky situation appealed to the individual recipient. If anyone thinks it could work, email me on Facebook and we'll get things started.
Looking forward to the balloon walk tomorrow and thinking as always about Graeme and Steph's Mum and Dad.
Lots of Love
Kay
