Unreliable Memoirs...

...contains some of the funniest writing I have ever encountered. On the back, the blurb pronounces 'read this on the train at your own risk'. I did and could not stop myself laughing out loud. There are a couple of pages (pp50/51) which are now hanging loose due to near constant use, which I read when I am in desperate need of a laugh.

That book was published over thirty years ago by Clive James and in the intervening years he has added to his bibliography, all of them funny, but in my opinion, not surpassing his first volume of autobiography.

In the early nineties, although I was not working on his programme, we would often find ourselves standing next to each other in the coffee bar queue and the memory of that rich Aussie voice will remain with me.

Clive is not in good health now though - he has made it public that he has nearly died four times in the last few years and is fighting a losing battle against leukaemia. In fact he says he has lost the battle against the disease and knows he will never see his home city of Sydney again.

Radio 4 on the iPlayer currently have an archive hour of Clive James which I know I must listen to in case it drops of their system. It will be a sad day when the time comes, but he will leave a wonderful collection of tv shows and writings to keep me amused to the end of my own days.