As I make the cottage pie (using some left over roast beef) for today's dinner, I listen to "Desert Island Discs" on Radio 4. The guest today is Vince Cable. This is a politician who never really impinged on my consciousness until fairly recently. I gather he is on the shortlist for Channel 4's Politician of the Year award. He's obviously impinging on other people's consciousness this year too.
Everything I've heard about him impresses me. He's clearly a very family orientated man. It's noticeable that all the records he wanted to take had family associations, from his father singing in the choir of York Minster to his son & daughter-in-law singing Mozart's "Don Giovanni". Even the book he chose to take was Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time" . This was so that he could use his time on the island to get to grips with the maths & science involved so he could talk to his younger son, a mathematician, on a more informed level. (I couldn't help thinking of the TV programme, "Numb3rs", where I'm sure Charlie's family have no idea what he's talking about half the time.) He strikes me as a man of intelligence, compassion, honesty & a certain amount of courage. I can't help thinking it's a pity that I can't say that for more of our politicians!
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