Taki Taki

High life | 16 June 2016

Thanks to his example, immodesty is now a virtue practised by most so-called sportsmen

Marion, Baroness Lambert, was hit and killed by a London bus last month while shopping in Oxford Street, a cruel irony if ever there was one. ‘At least it was Bentley,’ was how Steven Aronson, the writer, put it.

Marion was a very old friend of mine. She had endured the worst tragedy that can befall a mother, having lost a beautiful young daughter to suicide. Philippine Lambert had been sexually abused by a family friend, a sordid story that I first broke in these here pages and later in the Sunday Times. It was a vile affair and I won’t dwell on it, but it cemented a very strong friendship between us because the alleged abuser was a very rich man with powerful connections who actually warned me to desist. I did nothing of the kind, and wrote the story three times. Eventually, other news outlets picked it up.

Marion and her husband, Baron Philippe Lambert, never forgot it. When I once lost my temper with some EU biggies they had staying in their chalet, and threatened them with physical violence, the Lamberts announced that I could do no wrong. The biggies stuttered, huffed and puffed, then went back to devouring their caviar. (They had said something outrageous, like ‘we know better than you poor fools’ — or words to that effect.)

Marion and Philippe were very generous hosts. Their food was a gourmet’s wet dream, and the conversation at table was always — how do I describe it? — almost pugilistic. That’s because Marion held very strong opinions and was not scared to defend them. She also had a sense of humour. On one occasion, I repeatedly sang the praises of Annabel’s, the nightclub, to a tall man called Birley, who looked more and more nonplussed as the evening wore on.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in