Norman St John-Stevas, Baron St John of Fawsley - 1929-2012

[eighthobstruction]

>>>>>'at the time i just thought him a twat [tory] '.....<<<<<

....one of a long list calum....one amongst a long list....

[Stunsworth]

Who are the BBC now going to use when they want a fawning description of the royal family's latest escapade? Nicolas Witchell tries his best, but I'm not convinced he's up to the job.

[Norfolk Born]

Ingrid Seward?

[Serial_Apologist]

Ingrid Seward?

Jennie Bond? (Retd.?)

[amateur51]

Stephen Fry?

[sound of thundering hooves approaching]

"Did someone say one's name?"

[Norfolk Born]

Gyles Brandreth has form in this area.

[amateur51]

Gyles Brandreth has form in this area.

Crikey, how quickly we forget

if we try really hard

[Lateralthinking1]

Thanks for all the interesting comments about Norman St John-Stevas. As long as they are not too obnoxious, I think life is enriched - ie made more entertaining - by the existence of "characters". He was definitely a "character"!

Is that picture in Private Eye a mock-up? The reason why I ask is that the makers of "The Iron Lady" have been heavily criticised for getting Meryl Streep to wear a hat in the Commons. It was said that Margaret Thatcher never wore a hat there. Either the critics are wrong or else Private Eye is likely to have been the reference point for their decision.

On Royal wedding coverage - and should that be a capital "R"? - I suppose Paul Burrell has a lot of things to say about the Royals, often it seems on Fox News. For a more unquestioning commentary, Michael Gove?

[scottycelt]

I agree entirely with Lat about 'characters' ... how dull life would be without them!

Eccentricity is the default mode for upper-class Catholics in the UK ... it is ordained at birth!

I couldn't help but smile at the latest contribution in Wikipedia ...

<He died in March 2012 from undisclosed causes, aged 82. He never married and was widely assumed to be gay, if celibate (although he had a close male friend).>

Good old Norman, kept those nosy buggers hopelessly confused and ignorant right to the end ...

Norman St John-Stevas, R.I.P.

[Ferretfancy]

I met him once when he came to record commentary for a documentary. i remember a tall rather commanding figure, a little pompous in manner but very civil and courteous. Anybody who can label Mrs T as "the great she elephant' gets my vote !

[Alison]

I remember him most as a rather witty and popular panellist on Any Questions ?

He seemed quite a regular when I first started listening to the programme, rarely if ever making an
apperance on the TV equivalent Question Time.

Suddenly he disappeared from the roster and if I can ever be bothered to listen now I will often think
back to the good old days of Baron St John of Fawsley.

[Stillhomewardbound]

Absolutely, he was one of life's more colourful characters. His successor in self-aggrandisement would have to be Lord Mandelson, though without the same panache.

I like the Telegraph's remark ... NSS did not leak - he gushed.

My favourite story is his quitting a meeting early because he was going to a function. Thatcher protested that she was attending the same function and was not leaving so early.

His sanguine defence was 'yes Prime Minister, but I take so much longer to dress than you'.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

well we can thank him for enabling this

Born and brought up in London, he took his surname from eliding that of his Greek civil engineer father, Stephen Stevas, with the middle name of his Irish mother, Kitty St John O'Connor. Graun Obit

very bright but a toff?

[amateur51]

well we can thank him for enabling this



very bright but a toff?

His toffdom was aspirational and as is usually the case in such circumstances he rather went overboard, I fell

Regarding the report and its unavailability, can we detect the dead hand of Lord (Gus) O'Donnell here?

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

Lord (Gus) O'Donnell

quite possibly ... anything to mask yet another second rate piece of work ...