My wife and I will be returning to London this fall and I was reviewing some of my older notes. I remembered how much on our first trip I relied on the generosity of a lovely man, Ben Haines, who was a major contributor to this forum until his death in 2007. Mr. Haines was always the gentleman when responding to inquiries, no matter how coarsely worded or naive they might be. The link below is indicative of the type of help he offered. I have no idea how current the information might be, but I love reading it and thinking of him.
Victoria Research Web; Ben Haines on Walks in London

I also remember Ben and benefited from his advice. Thank you for posting the link to his walks - I've saved to enjoy on my next trip to London.

Thank you for posting. I remember Ben and what a lovely helpful man he was.

Yes he was a Fodor's gentleman!

This is lovely. My first trip overseas was to England in 2006 and that is when I found Fodors. I did my trip planning from reading on the England forum. It became evident very quickly that you better have done some research yourself and you better not ask dumb questions.

My first questions I ever asked on Fodors were about the Florence Nightingale Museum and the Beatles Walks from London Walks. I expected to be hit with some snarky replies. I'm not sure why as I think they were legitimate questions, but I had read a lot of snark already on this forum so I had prepared myself. I got an answer from Ben Haines full of good advice and help instead and he set the tone for the thread. He probably didn't even know the impression he made on me, it was just him being nice.

Thanks for this thread and the memories.

Ben was one of the best. It is hard to believe he has been gone so long.

Yes, he was always kind and had a great sense of humor. It's not often we get to see one another on the boards. Here's a picture of Ben.

Yes, Ben was a true gentleman. He gave me some excellent advice back in 2000. He was very fond of train travel. Thanks for posting his photo.

I remember Ben Haines very well. He was very responsive to emails. I still have his emails saved from 2007. He was a gem for sure!

Thanks for posting his picture!

I was able to attend the funeral for Ben Haines and bring some well-wishes from a few then-Fodorites to the members of his family in attendance. He was a memorable and now much-missed presence here.

Bookmarking and sharing when other people ask on other travel forums. Thank you

He sounds like a wonderful man and very knowledgeable. Thanks for posting this and just reading his history tour makes you realize how much work went into providing such advice. Can anyone provide more information about him and his life? I would love to know more about him

I just found a document that he wrote to me back in 2002! Even before I joined this board....he was so helpful!

Nanabee after I attended the Haines funeral I posted a condensed bio of the man but that has long ago been lost I am afraid. If you Google his name some things come up about him on the ThornTree site including the posting from one of his relatives announcing his death and memorial services back in March 2007.

Visiting this site again for the first time in apparently 13 years (didn't have a clue it was so long ago), and I remember the man, indeed.

I remember Ben Haines, too. He helped me plan our first trip to Prague in 2003. I knew he had passed away, but I didn't remember that it was so long ago. Thank you so much for posting his photo!

Thank you Dukey, I will check out your suggestions.

Ben Haines was such a lovely gentleman, who was always happy to answer questions and help. How civilized Fodor's was in those days...and could be again.