Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
A politician and former Olympic sprinter, best known as deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats.
On the island
Eight records
Ride of the ValkyriesFavourite
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Herbert von Karajan
My first record is The Ride of the Valkyries from Wagner's Ring, and it's the first piece of classical music of which I was really conscious.
I love the theatre, and I've always uh rather liked uh Dylan Thomas. And I think that Richard Burton's got one of the best voices I've ever heard in my life.
Chariots of Fire of all those films seems to me to get inside the mind of the athlete and the atmosphere of them. The sheer mind numbing fear of running in in an Olympic final.
In my naivety ... My sort of provincial West of Scotland naivety, I used to say, Gosh, this is a great record, let's play this little knowing that this was part of the culture of the time, which in those days involved quite a lot of drug consumption.
Arnold Schoenberg Choir and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle
On the night of our engagement we were separated. And as a result Fidelio, which was her opera, has always had a special place.
Kirov Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Valery Gergiev
The Edinburgh Festival has a wonderful chorus, and I have recollections of Verdi's Requiem with this wonderful, wonderful music.
The Band of the Grenadier Guards and the Pipes and Drums of the Gordon Highlanders
Michael Korb and Ulrich Roever
It reminds me of Murrayfield. I'm obsessed about Scotland ... It makes me think of hope, often unfulfilled, but hope which is always resurrected in time for the next match.
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Günther Herbig
I'm never quite driven to tears, but certainly emotionally affected by it because of its enormous power and subtlety.
In conversation
Presenter asks
2:14Was that ambition born in the Glasgow tenement?
I think that both my parents were extremely intelligent. They should both have gone to university, and if they hadn't been children of the Depression, they undoubtedly would have gone to university. And from a very, very young age I was conscious of the fact that I was expected to fulfil a lot of the ambitions which they had and which for them remain unfulfilled.
Presenter asks
2:58What did your father want for you then?
He wanted me to be a judge in the court of session in Scotland.
Presenter asks
6:29Did that mean that therefore he was too controlling of you?
We had our moments. And I broke out of that by going as a postgraduate to Stanford University in California, about which he was pretty doubtful.
Presenter asks
13:57Why did you strike out separately [to the Liberal Party] when your contemporaries were all Labour?
The keepsakes
The book
Robert Louis Stevenson
These were the first serious books I read.
The luxury
because of my interest in athletics and when I was younger, I never had time for golf.
I mean, I suppose there was a sense of rebellion slightly against ... it wasn't exactly a huge rebellion to say to one's left leaning parents, Well, actually I'm going to be a member of the of the Liberal Club at university, but it was what I felt and it's what I've always felt.
Presenter asks
25:06Is it true that you were asked earlier this year to act as a caretaker leader?
Twelve months out from elections then one covers all contingencies. Charles got this stomach bug at a bad time. It upset him and there were some anxieties ... when he appeared to have this health scare, then not surprisingly, twelve months out from election, people began to think, Well, what if something terrible happens and he's not able to go on? And so there were some described the other day in an article as contingency arrangements, but we don't need them.
Presenter asks
29:43How did you cope with your illness?
Nothing prepares you for the moment when a man ... says, Well, I'm afraid to tell you that you've got a malignant tumour. And it is. I mean, you're brought back on your heels ... I responded to the chemotherapy and the radiotherapy treatment, and I got through the treatment by and large without too many side effects.
“If you run, if you compete, then you win or you lose. If you are an advocate in court, then you win or you lose your case. And of course you can win and lose your seat.”
“I genuinely think it's the best opportunity we've had in my active political lifetime. As I said elsewhere recently, I've been to more dawns than the Archdruid of Wales.”
“I don't like my own company that much. I like people round about me. I can get lonely. And I'm totally impractical.”