Michael Foot

The recent passing of Michael Foot, former leader of the Labour Pary, reminded us fondly a day photographing him, for Victor Gollancz, in his garden in Hampstead. The photo was subsequently used by The Daily Telegraph.

At six o'clock out came Michael's wife Jill with a tray of TUC mugs containing Scotch. I swear it was not the strong liquor at this very early hour but things got decidedly stranger . . .

As our hosts entertained with tales of political life in the kitchen, a visitor arrived. She was welcomed and then left to the task that was the purpose of her visit. She was Michael Foot's chiropodist. And, I kid you not, we all sipped the whiskey while toenails pinged like shrapnel off our TUC crockery and most other things in the room. And the bizarre thing was that nobody made any reference to it at all!

Thank you, Mr Foot, for a memorable afternoon. And a barely resistible store of puns.