What I loved once and what I love now are two different things.

Matthew d’Ancona makes a pretty sweeping claim this morning. Sir Michael Caine is, he writes:

almost certainly the Greatest Living Englishman.

My first reaction was that this was pretty strong mustard. But then again, now that Bill Deedes has gone, who are the other contenders? Your nominations please…

And if Sir Sean Connery can be labeled the Greatest Living Scotsman, perhaps it’s appropriate that his old partner from The Man Who Would Be King be accorded the crown south of the border. In the light of recent developments in Scotland and England, readers are also invited to speculate, as wildly as possible, upon the potential political consequences and significance of this coupling. Be bold.