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Andrew Lownie speaking about his book Traitor King at The Oldie Literary Lunch on Tuesday 14th March 2023

PRUE LEITH ON HER LATEST RECIPE BOOK BLISS ON TOAST Our final speaker at The Oldie Literary Lunch was Prue Leith on her new cookery book, Bliss on Toast. Prue Leith is best known for The Great British Bake Off, but her greatest achievement in the room at The Oldie Literary Lunch, said Editor, Harry Mount, was for "writing a column for The Oldie Magazine". Harry introduced Prue, whose father made explosives in South Africa, as "utter dynamite". This column has now become a book as it was so popular, called Bliss On Toast. It has been selling like hot toast. Prue has also written an autobiography called Relish but her huge fan base in America said "no, that's what you put on hamburgers like jam" so in the USA, her book is called I Will Try Anything Once. Next year, Prue plans to do a one woman show in the spring, touring the UK and then to America. She told The Oldie Readers, "Am I completely mad, I am 82?" Prue's advice to The Oldie Literary Lunch was, "you can still be old and have a good time". In the first 25 years of Prue's career she focussed on setting up her cookery business, writing columns and cook books. The next 20 years she wrote novels. This was a time when the boards of most major companies were all occupied by men. A well known supermarket was asked why 80% of its customers were women, 70% of its staff were women and yet the Board of Directors consisted of men in grey suits. Prue was asked to be on the Board of National Rail. Her first AGM started from 8am until 2pm with no breaks and endless cups of tea, at which point she was "bursting for a wee". Being the only female, she felt embarrassed but eventually had to go, and she stood up. At which point, all the men stood up and bowed her out of the room. They stood up on her return. Prue said to them, "hey guys, can you just treat me like a chap!" The next stage in her career is the third revolution and is all about television. Prue gave the sound advice to The Oldie Readers: "You should do what you want" in life. Even if this has cheesed off her children. She never once watched a football match, and the only parents evening that she took her daughter to, they missed because they missed their train. However, Prue says, "you serve your grandchildren best by having a good time, and of course, teaching them how to cook, is helpful too."

CRAIG BROWN ON HIS LATEST BOOK HAYWIRE Barry Humphries, Oldie columnist, described Craig Brown as an "extremely funny writer". Craig was the leading satirist for The Daily Telegraph, Mail and Mail on Sunday and the spoof diarist for Private Eye. He has then had an incredibly interesting second life writing biographical books: Ma'am Darling - a hilarious royal biography about Princess Margaret. and his book about The Beatles: 150 Glimpses. His next biographical subject is The Queen. Today, he spoke to us about his latest book of journalistic writings, Haywire. Craig Brown explained the meaning of his latest book Haywire, "I think most people in this room have reached the age when they think the world has gone haywire". This realisation came to Craig when he set about writing a literary quiz. He wrote all the obvious categories and then thought, how about middle names of fictitious characters? What was the middle name for James Bond? After all, James Bond went to Eton and all Etonians have odd middle names. Ian Fleming's middle name was....Lancaster. Boris Johnson's middle name is...de Pfeffel. So how about James Bond's middle name? Craig did what all great researchers do these days and looked it up on Google. 2,020,000 views came up and the answer showed up as....Herbert. As Craig searched a myriad of other websites to check if this was absolutely true, he reached an educational children's website, which confirmed the middle name for James Bond was indeed Herbert and the source of this information was....Craig Brown. It turned out that 15 years beforehand, Craig had written a piece on 15 things you didn't know about James Bond, for the Telegraph. James Bond's middle name was revealed in On His Majesty's Secret Service when Bond is being held in a raffia-work cage, suspended over a pool of piranha fish, whilst the villain Dr. Peevish taunts him, saying "Herbert, Herbert, Herbert" over and over again. Bond says "kill me please, just kill me". Anyway, Bond escapes but sees Dr. Peevish's Christian name on a laundry basket and says, "Do your worst...Clarence". Bond escapes as Peevish covers his ears in torment. "The next items on the 15 things you didn't know about James Bond list was that his sister Jeannie is the Royal Correspondent for the BBC and his eldest brother, Basildon, is a leading figure in the stationary business" said Craig. Has the world gone Haywire? Craig asked the audience, "If Donald Trump can be the President and Liz Truss a Prime Minister, why can't James Bond's middle name be Herbert?" The book Haywire is full of jokes, but also some seriousness about other comedians such as Frankie Howard and Benny Hill who sometimes lead tragic lives. But, mostly Craig's books is about laughs. In particular, Craig enjoys parodies. One, which amused The Oldie Readers at our Literary Lunch, was the parody of the very much loved Mary Berry in a recipe book from a few years ago, in which she mentioned household tips which were rather...obvious. "Cupboards are ideal for putting things in." "Adding mushrooms to stock gives it a nice mushroomy flavour." "A garlic press is excellent if you want to press garlic, but I don't find it as good for wiping sticky surfaces." Has the world really gone Haywire?

PROFESSOR SIMON HEFFER ON CHIPS CHANNON Our first speaker was Professor Simon Heffer, who has written biographies on, amongst others, Thomas Carlisle, Vaughan Williams, Victorian and Edwardian Britain, and as "most of us spent lockdown staring at the ceiling and avoiding people on walks", Simon achieved an extraordinary historical feat of a mammoth 3 volume collection of the political diaries of Chips Channon. Simon told us "Yes, it was my lockdown project". Simon summarised with Proust who Chips had tried to get into bed in 1918. This wasn't brought up in the diaries until 1947, as though it had taken Chips 30 years to remember, which annoyed Professor Simon Heffer. Chips's mother had befriended various French people in the war as she worked on trying to raise money for the library in Paris. That's how they got to know Proust. When war broke out, she was nervous about her "little Chips" getting killed by the Germans, that she got him a job working for the American Red Cross in Paris. This meant that Chips stayed at the Ritz for a year. Simon said, "before Al Fayed owned it, it was a slightly more upper class hotel in those days". This is when Chips first starts writing his diary. Then Chips comes to England and the diary disappears. He gets into Oxford "by some means or another" and does a two year degree in French, which he only just passes. He forms his greatest friendships in those days, but the diaries are missing. Simon Heffer would like to get his hands on those diaries, which is not the most outrageous claim because when Robert Rhodes James was writing his version, a man appeared on his doorstep one day with two bulging carrier bags saying "I think these belong to you". He had found the diaries of Chips Channon from 1952-1967 in a car boot sale. The two last missing periods are 1919-1922 and the early 1930s. The third and final volume by Simon Heffer, covers Chips's relationship with Terence Rattigan, the British dramatist and screenwriter, best known for The Browning Version and The Winslow Boy. Chips had an affair with Rattigan for three years, but he also had a devoted boyfriend who was in India, who then returns to the UK. There was obviously a very serious '"bitch fight" between the two lovers, said Heffer, and Rattigan looses - that story is not in the book. Chips didn't want the diaries published for 60 years because they were filled with so many insults and so much abuse. Professor Heffer did check out all the outrageous claims that Chips had made, and mostly they were found to be true. Although, what Chips did get wrong on many occasions, were people's ages, for example "an old gal of 92" - when she was actually only 67. Heffer described Chips as "one of nature's journalists". He had "an acute eye for detail" and "particularly for personality". Chips would have found the most interesting person in a room and got all the dirt out of him or her that was necessary, and then go home and write out exactly what he'd been told, be that morning, noon or night. He managed to do this for the best part of 40 years. Heffer doesn't think anyone can possibly afford to write about the period between the war and the 1960s, without consulting the Channon diaries, because "Chips knew more or less everybody or anybody that he would have thought was worth knowing". Chips was very discombobulated when his great friend King Edward VIII decided to abdicate, because Chips could no longer leave his calling card with the Queen and King. Rather like Wallace Simpson, Chips was an American "on the make". Chips considered the next King George VI to be "boring" and the Queen Mother "common" - Heffer thinks he learnt about the term "common" from "our dear friend Nicky Haslam". Chips concentrates on politics and is determined to make something of himself as a politician. He is very rude about Churchill. His views can be described as "poisonous". However, although Chips is a snob and also a self-hating American, Heffer describes him as "irresistibly fascinating". Heffer revealed "I don't think if I had a daughter, I would want her to marry Chips" but then again, for many reasons, he probably wouldn't want to either.

A N WILSON delivered a startlingly honest and characteristically witty memoir of his youth entitled Confessions. His first autobiography is populated by a rich cast of characters from royalty to Oxford dons to journalists, and his speech provided the guests at the lunch with much humour

Peter Snow and Ann MacMillan speak about their latest book Kings & Queens at The Oldie Literary Lunch on Nov 15th at The National Liberal Club

The Oldie Literary Lunch took place on 15th November at The National Liberal Club. LUCY LETHBRIDGE gave a fascinating talk about her latest book Tourists defining the way the English went abroad to find themselves.  Holidaying was a new phenomena of the past two centuries and one which initially applied to the working classes. As Evelyn Waugh once said “Every Englishman abroad, until it is proved to the contrary, likes to consider himself a traveller and not a tourist.” PETER SNOW spoke about his latest book Kings & Queens, The Real Lives of the English Monarchs, which he has co-written with Ann MacMillan. Kings & Queens explores the lives, loves, triumphs and disasters of a monarchy that is the envy of the world. Peter's book offers a unique insight into those born to rule, whether villains or heroes - from cruel King John and warrior-king Edward III, to our own Elizabeth II: dutiful, discreet and the longest-reigning queen in the world. A N WILSON delivered a startlingly honest and characteristically witty memoir of his youth entitled Confessions.   His first autobiography is populated by a rich cast of characters from royalty to Oxford dons to journalists, and his speech provided the guests at the lunch with much humour.

Harry Mount hosts the Oldie Gang Show with guests Andrew Lownie, David Starkey and Dame Eileen Atkins. Andrew Lownie reveals the true nature of the Duke of Windsor, the subject of his book, Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Historian and broadcaster, David Starkey, paints a dynamic portrayal of Henry VIII as the both pivotal to British history and the progenitor of Brexit. Henry VIII is also essential for understanding the role of the Prime Minister and Parliament today. Dame Eileen Atkins is in conversation with Oldie veteran contributor Valerie Grove. Atkin's memoir, Will She Do? is a frank and funny chronicle of Eileen's journey from a Tottenham council estate - entertaining in men's clubs as Baby Eileen - to dominating the English stage and screen as an actor and writer.  January 19, 2022 at the Reform Club