I first worked with Patrick\u00a0in my\u00a0days as a BBC Radio Light Entertainment Producer, and we hit it off from the start. \u00a0Lesley and I made\u00a0many happy visits to “Farthings”, Patrick’s house in Selsey, West Sussex, where he\u00a0and the Sky At Night team would organise parties at the drop of a hat.<\/p>\n In 1996 I took the guitarist Brian May down to Selsey for the first time. He had met Patrick briefly as an astronomy student \u00a0in the days before\u00a0Queen<\/em> took off, but this time they\u00a0began\u00a0a long and beneficial collaboration.<\/p>\n It was Patrick who encouraged Brian to complete his PhD and Brian’s\u00a0doctorate\u00a0party was at Farthings in 2007. The invitation said\u00a0“Dress: Scientific”, and with a typical\u00a0disregard for convention, Patrick had himself dressed\u00a0up\u00a0as Professor Dumbledore from the Harry Potter books.<\/p>\n In the same year,\u00a0I\u00a0was honoured to be asked by Patrick and his producer Jane Fletcher to serve as script editor on the 50th Anniversary edition of The Sky At Night<\/em>. Patrick sensibly\u00a0confined me to editing the non-scientific portions of the script …<\/p>\n When Patrick died in December 2012 it was a huge loss to\u00a0the world of popular science. He had inspired millions of people to look up at the sky and take an interest in astronomy. Many of them became professional astronomers and physicists.<\/p>\n Patrick\u00a0lived a remarkable life. He shook hands with Orville Wright, – the first man to pilot\u00a0a powered aircraft – \u00a0and was friends with the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong. In fact\u00a0NASA used Patrick’s intricate moon\u00a0maps to decide where the Apollo landings should take place.<\/p>\n Privately, Patrick was a convivial, charming host with\u00a0a mischievous sense of humour (which could get him\u00a0into trouble). He adored \u00a0cats, and his beloved black cat Ptolemy was with him at\u00a0the end.<\/p>\n Patrick’s\u00a0funeral in January 2013 was attended by his closest friends. It was a mixture of sadness and of celebration. Of course there was plenty of laughter – Patrick was serious about his science but never\u00a0about himself. \u00a0Brian and I had\u00a0one last photo taken in Patrick’s office, where we had spent so much time with\u00a0him.<\/p>\n When I\u00a0was asked by my Perfectly Normal Productions\u00a0colleague Dave Morley to direct Far Side Of The Moore,<\/em> a BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Drama about The Sky At Night<\/em>‘s creaton\u00a0in 1957, I\u00a0knew it would take a very special script to capture Patrick’s unique personality and warmth. Sean Grundy turned out a wonderful piece which did exactly that. It received much acclaim.<\/p>\n Tom Hollander was superb as Patrick – uncannily capturing his voice and mannerisms – both on screen and off. With my eyes shut I could have sworn he was with us in the room.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I am\u00a0as proud of our production as I was to know Patrick.<\/p>\n \u00a9 Dirk Maggs 2015<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A drama with a personal connection … Far Side Of The Moore\u00a0was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 2.15pm on Monday 30th March 2015. It was written by Sean Grundy, produced by David Morley and directed by myself,\u00a0starring TOM HOLLANDER as Patrick Moore and PATRICIA HODGE as his mother Gertrude. I first worked with … Continue reading Far Side Of The Moore<\/span> ![\"Tom](\"https:\/\/dirkmaggs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Tom-and-Patricia.jpg\")
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