Another favourite actor dies. But this death hits closer to home because Robin’s role as Mr Keating was the closest to a mentor I ever had and because the film Dead Poets Society changed my life. It may sound dramatic and exaggerated but it’s utterly true. There is a before and after Dead Poets Society me, and if anyone could trace my lifeline, he could see the exact point where the me that I am today came to life - it was after I saw that film and met that teacher.

First of all, he made me fall in love with English Literature, which I studied eventually in College (and anyone who knows me knows the love I have for literature and the English language). And second of all, he taught me to dare to be me despite what people thought. He taught me to take pride in being different. I don’t know if he taught me to seize the day (there are many days I don’t seize), but he taught me to dare to lose my footing momentarily, so not to lose my self (to paraphrase the existentialist Kierkegård). And that’s a great lesson to have learnt.

Oh Captain, my captain, fare thee well, and if Heaven exists, I hope there’s laughter.