William Charlton’s obituary of his fellow philosopher, Colin Strang, mentions Strang’s practical skills as an electrician and mechanic. In her 2005 memoir, The Owl of Minerva, another of Strang’s colleagues at Newcastle, Mary Midgley, recalls that he took “his ancient car to bits on the pavement every Sunday” and was “famous for always tapping his cigarette ash carefully into the turn-ups of his trousers”.
