Simon Johnstone's world of wit and wisdom

There were the prompt, accurate, often overly detailed replies to any questions one might pose, whether related to language, literature, music, history, geography, or current affairs.

And there was a waspish retort, softened by a chuckle or a theatrical groan, if you'd been presumptuous, had made a bad pun, or had tried too hard to be "clever".

The sparkling baby-blue eyes and benevolent smile, the modest, understated manner, and deferential, almost timid bearing: When Simon Johnstone was nearby, one could hardly fail to be aware, or appreciative, of the fact.

A veteran sub-editor at this publication, Simon passed away on the dot of 6am on Saturday after a brief battle with cancer. He had turned 60 in February.

His final illness was sudden and brutal, and his many friends and handful of surviving family members can only be grateful that he has now been released from his suffering.

This loveably eccentric Englishman joined The Nation in early 1990 and was initially based at our original premises on Sukhumvit Road. He lived nearby on Soi 42/1, and when the newspaper moved to new, purpose-built offices in Bang Na, he followed, eventually renting a house with a small garden within easy walking distance.

When he retired on August 15 this year, there was only one other contender for the title of longest-serving foreign member of staff.

For a large portion of his time at The Nation, Simon was editor of the World News desk and took great delight in composing witty headlines, finding eye-catching photos and trawling the wires for funny or bizarre briefs for inclusion in the daily "Between the Lines" column.

Towards the end of his career he served as the newspaper's primary check-sub, pulling up writers and copy-editors - although always in a good-humoured way - for poor punctuation, grammatical mistakes and factual errors.

He continued to be a font of knowledge, an eminently reliable source for facts on a wide range of arcane and esoteric subjects.

He shared his opinions freely and was always generous with his time. He was never condescending to those who knew less, although he was sometimes impatient with colleagues who, too lazy to do their own research, treated him as a walking encyclopaedia.

Dr Simon William Johnstone was born in Darlington, England, on February 3, 1949. He was the only child of Henry (Harry) and Elsie Johnstone. His family later lived in Bath, London, briefly in Leeds and Nottingham, before settling finally in Leeds.

In 1968, after graduating from Nottingham High School, he was accepted by Balliol College, Oxford, on a scholarship (the Eric Raymond Noble Exhibition Award) to take the "Greats" - ancient Greek and Latin.

He took his Mods (part one of his degree) in 1970 but then changed subject to Classical Chinese. He was conferred with a BA in Oriental Studies in 1972. This was automatically upgraded to an MA three years later.

In 1974 he entered the School of Oriental and African Studies at London University, leaving two years later without a doctorate. He was finally conferred with a PhD, in Chinese Studies, by Leeds University in 1979.

His lengthy thesis addressed the phonology of Chinese literary dialects during the Sui and Tang dynasties.

In 1980 Simon took up a teaching position at Beijing University. Then in the summer of 1983 he began a two-year stint as an English-language "polisher" (sub-editor) at Xinhua, then known as the New China News Agency, the main state-run news service. There, he worked in the section concerned with Chinese domestic news intended for international consumption.

In 1985 he joined the Foreign Languages Press in Gan Jia Kou, Beijing, where he became the chief translator at "Chinese Literature" magazine.

In late 1989, despairing for the future of his beloved China in the wake of the Tiananmen Square massacre, he decided to return to the United Kingdom.

He stopped off in Bangkok en route to look up a friend employed by The Nation, and the rest is history - the dynamics of publishing a daily newspaper proved far too interesting for him to ever "up sticks" again.

His retirement this past August brought to a close more than 20 fruitful years in the field of print journalism.

Simon had an insatiable appetite for books and very catholic tastes in reading material. His love of music - he could play the piano and several other instruments "badly", as he was wont to put it - often compelled him to give spontaneous, word-perfect renditions of Edwardian music-hall songs and bawdy tunes from the two world wars.

Simon was also an enthusiastic polyglot, fluent in several extinct tongues, including Sanskrit, and more than seven modern languages, of which his favourite by far was Russian.

His friends were often treated to loud recitations of poetry in the latter, delivered while sporting an "ushanka", a traditional fur cap with ear flaps.

One of Simon's long-held ambitions was to spend his retirement travelling the world and increasing his knowledge of ancient languages. He was particularly looking forward to visiting the pyramids, but had postponed the trip until he was able to read the written language of the pharaohs, hieroglyphics - a skill he had come close to mastering at the onset of his final illness.

All of Simon's colleagues at The Nation and his host of friends, acquaintances and admirers around the world are devastated that the life of this kind, witty, supremely intelligent, entertaining and good-natured man should have come to such a premature end.

He will be remembered by many of us at a pre-cremation gathering to be held this Sunday from 2pm onwards at Sala 18, Wat That Thong, Sukhumvit Road (BTS Ekkamai).

We will be bidding a final, fond farewell to him at 5pm.

Rest in peace, Simon dearest.

This tribute was written by two of Simon's closest friends, Nation sub-editor Ramona Varma and former Nation copy editor Jon Taaffe.

People can read tributes to Simon Johnstone at http://simonjohnstone.livejournal.com/ and can send additional pieces to ramonavarma@yahoo.co.uk to post on the journal.