Lord Bonkers' Diary: Rescuing fallen women or scourging himself

This is why I stay working for Lord Bonkers despite everything: these precious snippets of Liberal history that somehow never make it into the textbooks.

Thursday

Those bad hats who chopped down the tree at Sycamore Gap are, by all accounts, in for a stiff sentence without the option. I am reminded of the tales told me by colleagues who had been in the House in Mr Gladstone’s day. When the Grand Old Man wasn’t rescuing fallen women or scourging himself, he was to be found felling trees. 

The problem was that he didn’t confine himself to the woods at Hawarden, but would often attack random trees on his way to speaking engagements. The result was that there were few Liberal MPs of his era who hadn’t at one time or another had to sweet talk the local rozzers to secure his release from custody and stump up for tickets for the next police ball.

Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West, 1906-10.

Earlier this week...

• From the pubs of Oswestry to the crumbling walls of Ludlow
• Matron told me at the party last night
• Commander Gideon, Dr Simon Sparrow and the girls of St Trinian's