Diary – 15 April 2006

When I told my husband I had been asked to write the Spectator diary by the editor he retorted, ‘Nepotism.’ ‘No darling,’ I explained, ‘not Boris’ (whose brother Joe is married to my husband’s niece) ‘the new editor of The Spectator.’ ‘Ummm,’ he said, ‘so how do you want to come across in the diary?’ ‘Oh, you know,’ I said, ‘witty, clever, charming, likeable.’ ‘Ah’, he said, ‘better get someone else to write it, then.’ Of course, Matthew has every right to feel a little grumpy at the moment. He is a whip and a minister in the House of Lords and has been fielding dozens of calls a day from friends thinking what a wheeze it is to ask how much he loaned the government for his peerage. I could see it was all wearing a little thin when even our very smart bank manager couldn’t resist asking with a smile playing on his lips …and we were there to discuss our overdraft.