Mark Mason

The milk of human kindness

Andrew Ward is nostalgic for the days when the milkman not only brought us our daily pints but doubled as district nurse, handyman and general superhero

issue 12 November 2016

One of David Cameron’s choices on Desert Island Discs, this book reminds us, was ‘Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)’. The book does not, however, explain why Cameron chose the Benny Hill ditty. Consulting the online archive, I found the then leader of the opposition explaining that ‘when you’re asked to sing a song’, ‘Ernie’ was the only one to which he could remember all the words.

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