Selected articles
Dervla Murphy (1931-2022)
Whatever the theologians might say about heaven being in a state of union with God, I knew that it consisted of an infinite library; and eternity was simply what enabled one to read uninterruptedly for ever
Memorial address for Alida Harvie
For the beautiful young Alida was warmly embraced by Lloyd George, beamed at by Mr Baldwin, Ramsay Macdonald bestowed a wintry smile, the be-monocled Austern Chamberlain offered a more formal salute and even Mr Winston Churchill gave her a puckish smile.
Funeral address for Keith Rogerson
Though enchanted by the sea, he was not a natural cog within any system. When they shared a cabin together, Andrew Waugh remembers how my father used to ‘lose’ a portion of his paperwork by posting them into a crack he had opened into the metal bulkhead.
Memorial address for Nico Rogerson, 1943-2017
Nico was always active, as close to Peter Pan as any mortal I have met. He lived life to the full, wonderfully alive to the moment, and forever charmed by the prospect of the next adventure.
John Baring - Lord Ashburton
John was knighted twice, built two country houses, was married twice, served as the Chairman of two great British institutions and helped establish two Country Operas. He had worked for the Prince of Wales and was a personal friend of the Queen. It is not a record that is likely to be equalled.
Norman Lewis (1908-2003)
He was also a crack shot and a determined and successful lover of women – to the extent that at one period of his life, he was running three separate ‘establishments’.
Michael Jacobs (1952-2013)
Michael was always a brilliant communicator, which he could do perched at a bar, in a university lecture hall, slumped across a sofa after midnight or at an international literary festival.
Andrew Graham-Yool (1944-2019)
He was not interested in contracts, systems or office hours, but accepted the dictats of a deadline and a mission with absolute conviction.
Jan Morris (1926-2020)
Jan had been thrown out of the Club after changing her sex. “Nothing to do with wearing skirts” and then her noble head rolled back and roared with laughter at the memory of it.
Bruce Wannell (1952-2020)
Bruce had enthusiasm, he had stamina, he had knowledge, he had an ear and a delight for music, language and poetry. What he did not have was any money or any interest in making it, let alone submitting to the slavery of a salary.
Michael Haag (1943-2020)
We would all agree, that one of the most acute pleasures of the traveller with time on his hands is reading the right book in the right place – discovering stories in the landscape in which they were written
John Freely (1926-2017)
John was expelled from his Brooklyn high school (scoring 0% in all subjects except for the humanities in which he scored 100%) and seemed destined to become cannon fodder.
Juliet Crawley - Mrs Dominic Vergos - Mrs Rory Peck
my most enduring memory of her is right at the end of her life, supremely elegant in tight trousers and surrounded by male admirers, horses, books, projects and her two beloved children. She was back on some sort of vegan-like diet, specified by a guru, but otherwise on conversational full throttle
Geoffrey Gorer (1905-1981)
… one of the most searing criticisms of the bleak reality of French colonialism to have ever been published.
Bob Chenciner (1945-2021)
Bob always looked healthy and happy, like some vision of a well-fed monk from England’s golden past.