AV News 184 - May 2011
We are broken-hearted by the death of Peter. We feel as though the heart has
gone from the AV world and we have lost its most precious jewel. We loved him
dearly and, thankfully, we told him so. We always looked forward to seeing him
at an AV Day or festival and he always demanded his 'Maggie kiss'! We were
so looking forward to judging with him at the Geoffrey Round competition and
upset to learn he was unable to attend.
He pushed forward the boundaries of AV. Many try, but no one comes near
to his creative mastery and technical skill. His comments on attenders'
sequences at AV days were always considered, informed, constructive and
often imaginative. He inspired many and encouraged and supported countless
of us. He stood up for AV against those who sought to devalue it.
I shall be eternally grateful to him for opening my eyes. I was dabbling with
AV but had no awareness of the wider AV world. Peter came to MidPhot one
year and encouraged, no, more than encouraged, he made it possible for me
to aspire to standards I'd never dreamed of. After the Midphot competition and
before we all went for a meal together, I came home to collect Maggie and said,
"there's somebody you will really like and will get on with". That was Peter and
a great friendship was forged. He rejoiced in our successes. In one of our last
e-mails he gave me a suggestion for an AV he thought I should make. It will be
dedicated to Peter.
As for his own AVs, he was the most prolific AV producer ever, often making
finished sequences in the time most of us would take to think about it. There's
not a single one which does not make you think - the mark of a good AV. My
personal favourite is 'Sarah', largely because of the groundbreaking absence
of a narrator, just the power of the actuality recording of Sarah's voice. Another
favourite is 'Cook's Tour', which has become the archetype for so many
sequences that have followed. And who else could even contemplate making
an AV about their own heart triple by-pass operation? True to form he was
working on an AV, his last, in his hospital bed.
I know people will want to remember him. Can I humbly suggest that an
appropriate way might be to make the premier award in our International AV
Festival the 'Peter Coles Trophy'? If necessary I'm sure it would be funded by
his friends in the AV world.
He was a big man, with a big heart. Maybe we should take comfort that his
heart could not be contained in this world. Peter was the heart and soul, of the
AV world. He was definitely ready, but entirely unwilling, to meet his Maker. The
AV world will never be the same again. But then I guess Heaven will never be
the same either with Peter there!
God Bless You Peter.
Malcolm & Maggie Imhoff
This is the sad loss of someone who will be missed at home and abroad.
Keith Scott
Peter was the most active AV worker in the world.
Rest in Peace Peter. You will be greatly missed by all