Whenever and wherever these two jovial veterans have an opportunity to meet, there is never a shortage of reminiscences to keep the conversation flowing.
He told me that Sesame could already be judged a success simply because preparatory meetings over the past decade have brought together scientists from countries that would never normally meet.
The parents of a student who was stabbed in the heart as he walked to meet his girlfriend said they have "started a life sentence from which we will never be released".
She said: "Clearly, it will never be possible to meet every request and I hope that people will understand that we have to work within the finite resources we have".