My deepest sympathies to all your family.

Although he never gave me direct advice, his knowledge of Europe was a great help to many and i looked forward to reading his posts as he always had the answer.

He lived his life to the full and touched many lives.

Rest In Peace Ben, you'll be sorely missed by many

I was saddened to hear about the passing of Ben Haines. He brought such knowledge and joy to traveling and had such an elegant writing style.

When I was planning a trip to London a few years ago, he emailed some info and was encouraging to me. I'm not sure if I ever said a proper thank you for all his help, though I doubt he thought of it as doing anything out of the ordinary.

Reading Tim Haines bio about his uncle brought a smile through the tears. I see where his love of travel took him throughout his life and I learned more about him than just being a wonderful source of information.

My deepest condolences go out to you and your family. I'm sorry I cannot attend the memorial service, but he will be in my thoughts.

for those who may also be members on other travel forums, additional
announcement and tribute threads for
Mr Ben Haines are ongoing at

Thorntree (Lonely Planet)http://tinyurl.com/3yry5v

and Travelers to Go
http://tinyurl.com/38zh4z

I am very sorry to hear about your uncle's passing. My thoughts & prayers are with you and your family.

A truly remarkable man and contributor to Fodor's. He will be missed.

MY

This is a shock, we were just talking fondly about Ben Haines at a recent GTG.

My deepest sympathies to his family and friends.

My condolences to you Tim, and your family and his friends. The posts your uncle contributed here left no doubt that he was a very kind, caring and intelligent person who took great pride in helping others. Mr. Haines love of detail, of travel and of his hometown London were always evident in every response.

As you have just registered at Fodor's, I'm not sure whether you know that all of the contributions he made to the forum can be found by clicking on his name in one of his posts. (There may be even more -- this only goes back several year to the time when registering a screen name became required here. Using the general search box with his name might yield more.)

Anyway, here is a shortcut for you in case you would like to read his posts (or save them, or print them): using this link, Mr. Haines contributed to all of the posts listed in the frame to the left; his entries will appear highlighted within.

<b>http://preview.tinyurl.com/2zgg97</b>

Tim,

Thank you for taking the time to inform us of this very sad news. Ben was a kind and generous man. Please accept my condolences.

Bye Ben, I'll miss your words.

I will definitely miss Ben Haines, a consummate gentleman. He always provided free and accurate aid with trip planning, and there are many details I could not have finalized over the years without him.

God Speed Ben.

I join the chorus---Ben's postings were always informative and thoughtful.

He joined the community as ben_haines_london in the pre-registration days. Judging from several posts here it seems that his online contributions were hardly limited to this site. We are grateful that he chose to post his stellar advice here as well.

Thank you Tim for shedding light on Ben's life---sounds like one amazing journey.

Your uncle will be missed.

I will keep Ben and your family members in my prayers. He helped me in planning my London trips as well as my very special trip to Romania this past fall (I traveled there with my father just months before his own death.)

One of the best parts of Fodor's Forums is lost to us now.

Dear Tim,

This is such sad news.

I, like so many others here, felt that I knew him through his kind and informative posts.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you and all his family.

Byrd

Dear Tim,

I had tears in my eyes when I read your words about him. You were lucky to have had him in your life. I hope your memories of him will give you comfort.

Johanna

I am so sad.
I feel as though a good friend has died.
I will always remember Ben Haines and his charming posts and kindness in helping newbies and sharing his life and experiences with us.
My condolences to his family,
Scarlett

I still have the printout of Mr. Haines' report on &quot;pubs in London for lunch&quot; and &quot;where to bring children in and around London and the rest of the UK&quot;.

You will be so much missed, Ben. May you rest in peace.

So very sad. A great wealth of information is gone except in his posts that will live on.
He was always helpful and polite.
He will be missed.

Honestly first I didn't really pay attention to this posting, I was thinking someone was asking him advice.
I'll be in London in less than 3 weeks and will have a thought for him and his family.
Mes sinc&egrave;res condol&eacute;ances.
Corinne

So sorry for your loss, Tim. As you can see, he will be missed.

So sorry to hear this news. Ben e mailed me personally on a question about the Venetians on the coast of Croatia. So knowledgeable and so generous.

Tim,

So sorry to hear about your loss. Even though I never met him, his presence here in his comments and stories made me see him as a true gentleman and kind soul. This place is now the lesser by his absence.
Mike

I am so sorry to hear of the loss of Mr. Haines. What a lovely individual he was, and what an interesting life he had. My best to your family, Tim Haines.