Among the lovely set of photos posted by Syd is one of him and me sitting in a booth with Michael. That's the context I most want to remember Michael by. Others have already written of the many different contexts in which the warmth of his personality, the breadth of his learning, the sharpness of his mind, and the integrity, curiosity and generosity that he brought to any situation made everything better. Like many of them I'm indebted to Michael for numerous perceptive critiques and helpful suggestions and what in retrospect feels like an unwarranted amount of indulgent attention. But it's the context exemplified by that photo - a booth in a diner / greasy spoon / hotel restaurant - that will always make me think of Michael. And it's no surprise that in the picture he is smiling, because laughter is the thread that runs through all those DH conference breakfasts. Michael was gloriously funny. His humour was never malicious or snide, it was jolly and life-affirming and delivered with a twinkle in his eye. He embodied the trifecta of being a great raconteur, of having a gift for mimicry, and possessing a keen sense of the absurd. Through pancakes and hash browns and coffee he would regale us with stories and Syd and I would mostly just sit there because it's hard to eat when you're crying with laughter. Thank you for everything, Michael, but especially for all those laughter-filled breakfasts. An hour or so in the company of Michael Sperberg-McQueen: was there ever a better way to start a day?