Wendy Barnaby
I’ll never forget the first time I met Tony. As a journalist, I’d been writing about conveniently-alliterative water wars, and he took me to the SOAS staff room and explained his idea of virtual water. It made total sense and I was an immediate convert. I admired Tony’s clear-sightedness about the thesis itself and about the length of time it would take for it to become mainstream; and I admired too his courage in challenging conventional wisdom. He really broke the intellectual mould, but met scepticism with courtesy. He had a cheerful sense of humour and was unfailingly patient, incisive, forbearing and hard-working. He loved the life of the mind and his commitment was personal: he quietly changed his diet to lower its water consumption. I mourn him as a guru and a friend.
Wendy Barnaby
I’ll never forget the first time I met Tony. As a journalist, I’d been writing about conveniently-alliterative water wars, and he took me to the SOAS staff room and explained his idea of virtual water. It made total sense and I was an immediate convert. I admired Tony’s clear-sightedness about the thesis itself and about the length of time it would take for it to become mainstream; and I admired too his courage in challenging conventional wisdom. He really broke the intellectual mould, but met scepticism with courtesy. He had a cheerful sense of humour and was unfailingly patient, incisive, forbearing and hard-working. He loved the life of the mind and his commitment was personal: he quietly changed his diet to lower its water consumption. I mourn him as a guru and a friend.
