Thank you BookChick, I often wondered what Ben Haines looked like and he is exactly as kind and intelligent appearing in the photo as I expected. Daughter and I are in the process of planning a trip to London and I am using many of the 'cut and pasted' scraps of wisdom I collected from this fount of knowledge: for us and I suspect, many others, Ben Haines lives...

I have been away from this site for years, but something made me come back today just to check on Ben. I am overwhelmed with the sad news of his passing. My husband and I had the amazing good fortune to meet Ben twice in London. We worshiped with him and then, enjoyed a wonderful "Sunday lunch" at his home. The other guests around the table were intriguing parishioners from St.Catherine's, all newcomers to South London. We had a chance to meet you too, Tim, and admire photos of the longboat you lived on for a time in London.
Ben was international in every aspect, even though he was always the best Londoner too. His outlooks were refreshed by current contact with people from everywhere and his conversation was evocative and challenging. We were blessed to have made his acquaintance. He truly was a gentleman of substance and so much caring. He carried his physical suffering with grace. His last message to me, as I was dealing with grave challenges myself, was to bear the problems with grace. He said doing more would be "selfish."

Rest in Peace, Dear Ben! And our most sincere condolences to all of the rest of the Haines relation.

Well said, Schildc1! And my thanks, too, Bookchick, for that link.

I was lucky enough to meet up with Ben in London just once, and only wish there had been more meetings. We corresponded continually, and I think of him often.

Ben's fans will be glad to know that many of his writings remain easy to find on my UK budget travel page at http://victorianresearch.org/trip.html
including:
"Haines on Trains" at http://victorianresearch.org/hainesontrains.html
London pub advice at http://victorianresearch.org/hainesonpubs.html
London history walks at http://victorianresearch.org/haineswalks.html
and his guide to labour history sites at http://victorianresearch.org/laboursites.html

We will not see his like again.

I also corresponded with Mr. Haines, as he liked to be called, since we had a mutual interest in train travel, but he, of course, knew much more than I ever could know. We both kept our "bible", the Thomas Cook European Timetable close at hand, and used it extensively to help fellow travelers.

I planned on meeting up with Mr. Haines the last time we were in London, but sadly, that did not come to pass.

I love the idea of Fodors memorializing him in some way -- I know the England guide just came out, and perhaps they did just that.

Thank you Tim Haines -- I guess you can see from this outpouring of almost a year how much your uncle will be missed!

Ben was quoted in the most recent London guide; we sent a few copies to Tim when it first came out. Ben is certainly missed!

As I am going back to London again (27th time) I was going to refer to Ben's lecture list. That is how I have found out about his passing. He was a wonderful man and I emailed him numerous times. He will be missed. He always had something new for someone to explore even those of us who think we have "been there, done that".

It is now 2008 in Europe -- the first year without Ben Haines.

I've been away from Fodors for quite a while, but I'm very saddened to hear of Ben's passing. He was one in a million.

I have also been away from the Forum for a while. Your Uncle was a great help to me when I had a question about buying silver demi-tasse spoons in London. I thought having those as "souveniers", since we don't use them in the US, would bring back nice memories of our trip to London. Ben told me about a number of great places one of which if, I remember correctly, was the Silver Vault. It was located in an area of London I had never seen, so my trip to buy spoons turned out to be a sight seeing excursion also. He was a great man!

I am using three old emails Ben sent me detailling London walks for my trip tomorrow. He is gone and truly missed. But his good works remain. Here's to you, Ben!

I haven't been reading much on the Europe board lately but came across this.

Ben helped numerous times with various aspects of our European trips.

He was also a big help when my daughter (Kimberley) was planning a London wedding.

I was shocked and addened to hear of his passing.

Topping for those who may not have known Mr. haines

It was a pleasure sir...

It was a very sad but seemed appropriate to attend Ben Haines' funeral service and when I did so attempted to represent, in person, the many folks here who were able to benefit from his sage travel advice.

A lovely ceremony with many fitting tributes to this man who is certainly still sorely missed.

The many kind words about Mr. Haines are so very true. A real gentleman.