When Ken Livingstone advertised Red Leicester

In 1989 Ken Livingstone made this television commercial for the National Dairy Council - thanks to Alwyn Turner for tweeting it.

He has given me an excuse to say nice things about both Livingstone and Red Leicester.

When Ken Livingstone was suspended by the Labour Party in 2017 because he wouldn't stop talking about Hitler I blogged:

I am sad for Ken because I remember him as leader of the Greater London Council.

It's not that I thought his policies were great, but the way he conducted himself was a model for any aspiring politician.

Though this was the era in which the Sun labelled him "the most odious man in Britain", he remained unfailingly calm in interviews and was witty too.

He was a star. When he resigned his seat and fought a by-election as part of the campaign against the abolition of the GLC, I helped the Liberal candidate Steve Harris.

One Saturday the great and good of Richmond Liberals turned up to help. Their children asked if they could go on Ken's bus.

And then there's Red Leicester.

If you know it only from the plastic-wrapped supermarket version then you have missed a treat.

A proper farmhouse Leicester has a sweet, earthy flavour and a wonderful, almost creamy, texture.