Readers Pay Tribute to Guardian Nature Columnist Phil Gates After Nearly 40 Years
Letter writers reflect on the influence of Phil Gates's country diary column following news of his final entry.
Readers of The Guardian have written in to pay tribute to longtime country diary columnist Phil Gates, following news that his recent piece was to be his last after nearly 40 years of writing the column.
One letter writer said Gates's columns had inspired their approach to teaching, describing sadness at learning the column was coming to an end.
Another reader described a longstanding habit of reading the column as soon as they received the newspaper, citing an appreciation both for its connection to their own home county and for the way it consistently revealed new details about overlooked aspects of the natural world.
The tributes reflect the column's long-running presence in the newspaper and its resonance with readers over multiple decades.
Gates's country diary entries have chronicled observations of nature over nearly four decades, with the letters suggesting the column built a loyal readership over that period.
Sources
- Thank you, Phil Gates, for nearly 40 years of country diaries | Letters — The Guardian — Opinion
EGazette summarizes reporting from multiple sources; follow the links for the originals.
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