Lord Hague thrown
Lord Hague watched the first annual Boat Race since his election as Oxford University chancellor from the banks of the Thames last weekend, and was overheard telling colleagues he finds time to stay in shape himself – by practising his 'judo skills'. As Tory leader he would spar with former Olympian champion Sebastian Coe, who was then his chief of staff. 'I wouldn't want to exaggerate but I still practise my judo occasionally and can do all the moves. It's good for mental and physical fitness. I can't help with the rowing though,' he tells me.
When Peebles met his match
Farewell to the late Andy Peebles, the Radio 1 DJ who secured the last interview with John Lennon before be was murdered in 1980. His funeral this week heard how he also interviewed Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and David Bowie, as well as Albert Pierrepoint, Britain's last executioner. Peebles – a fan of the Peterborough diary – was only really lost for words when he interviewed Margaret Thatcher for Manchester's Piccadilly Radio in the 1970s. Asking her for the price of a tin of baked beans, she replied: 'Do you know Andy, the Thatcher family don't eat baked beans.'
Jugged Keir
Just in time for Easter, the House of Commons shop has started to sell a 'handcrafted Toby Jug of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer ', happily made in Stoke-on-Trent, alongside jugs of Tony Blair, David Cameron and Winston Churchill. Only 1,500 of the four inch high jugs – worth £35 each – have been made. I think Starmer's Jug makes him look a bit worried to me. Other PMs are available.
Political platforms
Reality TV star Ollie Williams, who appeared on reality TV show Love Island in 2020, is one of Reform UK's candidate in next month's local council elections in Cornwall. And over in North Norfolk, Connor Rouse – who bared all on Channel 4's Naked Attraction – is a Liberal Democrat candidate to be a councillor in Holt. Who says politics is showbusiness for ugly people?
Speaking imperial
Plop! A back issue of 'The Yardstick' the journal of the British Weights and Measures Association, lands on my doormat (I am an honorary member), drawing attention to an advert for a Morrisons rump steak costing '£13 PER KG' and then in smaller print 'that's £2.95 for an 8oz steak'. John Gardner, the association's director, says: 'This demonstrates how the metric system bears no meaningful relation to quantities that are actually used, or are of human scale; a 'translation' is needed to make metric make sense.' He's right.
Classy dame
Actress Jean Marsh, who has died aged 90, was made an OBE in 2012. But Eileen Atkins, her fellow actress and co-creator of TV series 'Upstairs Downstairs', was made a Dame in 2001. Marsh didn't mind, blaming her lack of experience in classical theatre. She even generously wrote a rap for four theatrical dames – Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Diana Rigg, and Joan Plowright – to perform at a benefit show in in March 2005: 'We the Dames, we the bitches/ We done gone from Rep to riches/ We strutted our stuff at the RSC,/ The National Theatre and the BBC.' Marsh was delighted when the Dames performed her rap. 'It stopped the show'.
Kemi's Easter treat
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has not joined in the craze for Colomba cakes which appear to have sold out in Marks & Spencer and Waitrose stores across the country. Instead she told me on GBNews she is excited about something else tomorrow, after a 40 day wait. 'I gave up alcohol for Lent so I am looking forward to having a drink on Easter Sunday,' she said.
Bean's gravy
Actor Sean Bean's current role as a gangster overlord in This City is Ours was hampered by a lack of gravy when they filmed for six weeks in the Costa del Sol. His co star James Nelson-Joyce says of Sheffield-born Bean: 'One of my friends was coming out to Spain and Sean asked: 'Can you get him to bring us two tubs of Bisto gravy?'. That's the mark of the man. We were in the middle of Marbella, in this fantastic apartment complex with beautiful restaurants and all Sean wanted was two tubs of Bisto.'
Downing St's Chinese secret
Where does Sir Keir Starmer buy the stock for 10 Downing Street's gift shop, asks MP Richard Holden In Parliament. Cabinet Office minister Georgia Gould replies 'Many of the items sold in the 10 Downing Street gift shop are made in the UK. A very small number of items, such as water bottles from a well known British supplier, are made globally, including in China.' No one tell Donald Trump.
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