It seems that the last few weeks have seen the passing of a few of my heroes (and Amy's beloved cat Baboo).

Alfred Peet - "the Dutchman who taught America how to drink coffee." - Founded Peet's Coffee in Berkeley's "Gourmet Ghetto" in the 1966, dismayed by the quality of coffee in the US. Peet taught his style of roasting beans to Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegel, and Gordon Bowker, who took the technique to Seattle and founded Starbucks in 1971. Alfred died on August 29th

Michael Jackson - "The Beer Hunter" - no relation to the singer - Wrote volumes on beer and whisk(e)y while championing beer as a drink with the same potential for pedigree and vintage as wines. His book 'The World Guide To Beer' established much of the terminology used by microbrew culture and his promotion of craftsmanship in beer brewing has no doubt helped local brewers make beers that I won't turn my nose up at. Michael died on the August 30th

Colim MacRae - The scottish rally legend, in 1995 he became the first british world champion and also the youngest, an achievement that saw him honoured by the Queen in 1996. He won many other titles during his career and his name has been lent to one of the most successful video game franchises of the last decade. He was killed in a helicopter crash near his home in Scotland on the 15th of September.