Big Benn

Another Southbank-based literary salon (it's becoming a compulsion). The view from which reminded me that the last time I saw the late great Tony Benn, who died on Friday, was at a literary event. He was reading from the latest volume of his diaries at Foyles ('Free at Last! Diaries 1991-2001' - currently Book of the Week on Radio 4).

This was around the time that he explained he was “leaving parliament in order to spend more time on politics.” And he did - I also bumped into him a couple of times around then in the early days of the Stop The War Coalition. I was fortunate enough to hear him deliver many of his quotable quotes that are currently filling the newspapers. He was a compelling speaker and a big political personality - and there aren't many of those around today.