The key to dealing with this election? Wine

An old friend phoned. Normally cheerful, he was fed up. One of his business partners was being more than usually incompetent. ‘I told him that I’d describe him as a halfwit, if I could find the half.’ We went on to discuss another couple of friends, both good men and true, who seem doomed to imminent parliamentary defenestration.

By the end of lunch, we were thoroughly benign. I was persuaded I could endure a Labour government

Then there was hunting: a passion. It survived for several years under the Blair government and it seemed clear Tony had no stomach for the ban, which was half-hearted. That witty and cynical fellow Charlie Falconer said he could not understand why anyone was complaining. The antis wanted a ban and got one. The hunters wanted to go on hunting and did. Everyone should relax. But will there be much witty cynicism in a Starmer administration? It seems unlikely.

In the spirit of there always being time for a bottle of champagne before the firing squad, my friend proceeded to ask me what I was doing for lunch. There followed a feast at Bentley’s: famous for fish. The host chose, concentrating on dishes the enemy might prohibit. ‘Would you mind if we had some foie gras between the caviar and the lobster?’ ‘I could be persuaded.’ The foie gras was as superb as any I had tasted for longer than I could recall. Occasionally these Lucullan banquets can fall short in some respects. Not Bentley’s. Everything was imperious in its excellence.