I got a call today to tell me that an old friend, Todd Webster, passed away at the weekend. When Grill and I travelled to Australia in 1999/2000 one of our targets was Canberra, ACT. For most people it was a transfer point for buses between Sydney and Melbourne, and the faster they got out of there the better, but as the Nation's capital Canberra had a lot of money pumped into it and along with that came lots of new skateparks. We'd planned to spend 3 days there, booked into the local YHA to check out the skateparks.
On the first day we bumped into Todd. I can't remember if it was at the park or the local skateshop, but within 5 minutes of meeting us he'd told us he could stay at his place instead of the YHA, and for a couple of weeks if needed. Needless to say, we took him up on the offer, extended our stay in Canberra and were welcomed into an incredible scene of friendly skaters. That scene really was something special and I have Todd to thank for introducing us to it. He would have said it was just typical Australian hospitality. No big deal.
Luckily, I was able to part repay the favour when I returned to England and he was visiting a girlfriend who was living in Scotland. We stayed at my parent's place for a couple of days and I took him to all the local skatespots and a tour of London. He skated everything as if he was a local. A true ripper. I haven't seen or heard from him for nearly 10 years, but it saddens me to think that our paths won't cross again.

Todd at Gungahlin Skatepark & Hanging out with the crew, post-skate, at City Pub - Canberra (Todd front left).