RIP Jeremy Thorpe

[Beef Oven!]

In 1966 my future wife and I were eating in the Golden Lion Ipswich whilst at the next table Mr Thorpe was lunching with half a dozen local dignitaries and entertaining them with a virtuoso display of jokes and anecdotes that had them in stitches, evidently a very clubbable man and not difficult to see how his charm had got him to the top of the Liberal party in those days.

His charm and his brilliant mind.

[french frank]

I saw him once at a party conference, sitting in the audience, in the 'post-Thorpe' era after he had disappeared for some time. He got a resounding welcome when his presence was noted, which he acknowledged quietly. There was a rather disrespectful version of 'On Ilkley moor baht 'at' which was sung at the only conference 'Glee' that I attended.

[Beef Oven!]

I saw him once at a party conference, sitting in the audience, in the 'post-Thorpe' era after he had disappeared for some time. He got a resounding welcome when his presence was noted, which he acknowledged quietly. There was a rather disrespectful version of 'On Ilkley moor baht 'at' which was sung at the only conference 'Glee' that I attended.

Charisma, I think it's called.

[visualnickmos]

I was quite surprised when I heard it on the news - he seems to belong to such a long-ago time that I assumed he was already dead.

Me too; I seemed (clearly erroneously!) to think he'd died years ago!

[jean]

Certainly listening to this, it felt like another world:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04wz633

[Serial_Apologist]

I once knew a dodgy antiques dealer who operated from a portacabin off the A13. Modelled his appearance on Thorpe: same hat, same coat with the fur collar.