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Man of fierce logic and inventive puzzle making
ALBIE Fiore – Rubik’s Cube developer, cryptic crossword compiler and editor of the magazine Games and Puzzles – led a life devoted to patience and logic.
It was this twin pursuit that helped shore-up the campaign for a new secondary school in south Camden, which the father-of-three fought for in later life.
He has died aged 63. Emma Jones, co-founder of the Where is My School campaign, said: “Logic was a big thing with Albie. He would argue at length against policies and arrangements because they simply didn’t make sense. “Albie went on to produce some fiercely logical statistical arguments to support the campaign for a secondary school in our community, and I remember the moment his catchment area maps were projected during a deputation in the council chamber – clear, bold and unarguable – as being a turning point in the fortunes of the campaign.
“I really got to know Albie when we stood together at the gates of Christopher Hatton and started talking about the lack of a secondary school south of the Euston Road. It was Albie’s ranting that really got it all started – and it fired me up to start saying, ‘he’s right, it’s unfair, it’s illogical, we should do something!’.”
The group won a major victory this year with the council staging its first public debate on plans to open a secondary school in Wren Street, King’s Cross.
Born in Southend-on-Sea, Mr Fiore went to architectural college before developing an interest in cryptic crosswords. In the 1970s, he started on the editorial team of Games and Puzzles, based in Tottenham Court Road, taking over as editor in the late 1970s.
Mr Fiore, who lived in Bedford Place, led an extraordinarily varied life as an architect, chef, contributor to the television show The Crystal Maze, antiques dealer specialising in slot machines and scriptwriter for characters including Scooby Doo.
He composed puzzles and crosswords for The Guardian under the pseudonym Taopi and for the Times as Satori. He helped devise Rubik’s puzzles and wrote a book, On The Spot, about moral dilemmas.
A well-known face around Bloomsbury, he liked to wear a long black coat and cycle wherever he went, even when he became ill with lung cancer with the aid of a portable oxygen tank.
In a tribute on his blog, his wife Sue said: “Albie had children later in life, having had so many other people’s children around him. He had infinite patience to play their games and was incredibly inventive. Millie’s favourite memory is playing a game with Daddy using imaginary dice.”
Mr Fiore is survived by his wife and three children, Iggy, Theo and Millie.
TOM FOOT |
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Your comments:
"Gone too soon" I still can't believe that I will never see David's bright and sunny smile. David was one of those "glass half-full" people with an optimistic approach to life. My sincere condolences to his family, he really was a giant amongst men. Rest in peace David.
M. Hinds
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