Lord Bonkers 30 years ago: Instructing Campbell-Bannerman to "eat my shorts"

Lord Bonkers pointed out at dinner this evening that I am yet to publish an excerpt from his diary for August 1992. He also assured me that you are all bursting to read it.

Whatever the truth of that, here is a glimpse of the then Liberal Democrat MP for Truro, whom Lord B. must have known even then was the great-grandson of his old friend Sir Percy Harris. (He was less sure in those days of Paddy Ashdown's correct name.)

Wednesday

Consider Master Taylor: once a sweet, biddable child, he now lolls upon our benches listening to some dreadful row upon his "Walkman" (and yet he assures me it is Radical, so perhaps it is sound in its way). As for his behaviour towards Ashfield,,, all I shall say is that I should never have dreamed of instructing Campbell-Bannerman to "eat my shorts" or "get outta my face".

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