Old friends and Christmas letters

I thought round robin Christmas letters were becoming a thing of the past.

Apparently not. Three arrived this morning. One – from "industrialist" Ken Tonkin – even mentioned me by name:

I met an old friend, Simon Clark, a few weeks ago and he kindly pointed out how boring he found the whole idea of Christmas letters and mine in particular so this one is dedicated to him.

Simon is the director of an organisation called Forest, the Voice and Friend of the Smoker, and organised a great party to celebrate Forest 35th anniversary. There were some delightfully right-wing people there and the whole evening was a great success.

Prior to the event at Boisdale I hadn't seen Ken for ten or 15 years. In the Eighties I saw him all the time and even shared a bed with him.

We met through a mutual friend, Richard Thoburn. Richard worked for a PR company just around the corner from me in London.

Richard was a member of the Federation of Conservative Students at Bradford (where he met Ken). Shortly after I arrived in London we were introduced by another old friend.

Several times a week we'd meet for a drink after work. Our 'regular' was the Old King Lud (now closed) on the corner of Ludgate Circus, a few minutes' walk from St Paul's Cathedral.

I remember drinking in the Old King Lud the day Mrs Thatcher announced that a huge task force was to sail 8000 miles to the Falkland Islands. The atmosphere that night was incredible. We were so pumped up it was the closest I've ever got to volunteering!

Later Richard and I shared a flat in West Kensington. That's when I really got to know Ken because he often stayed overnight after a long session in the pub.

We started renting cottages for boozy breaks in small rural villages. We'd invite half a dozen or so friends and together we'd squeeze into however many beds there were.

One year, in North Wales, Richard, who had first pick, chose a single bed leaving Ken and me to share the adjacent double bed, like Morecambe and Wise.

Most of the time, though, was spent in the nearest pub.

Ken had a prodigious appetite for pubs and beer but never seemed to put on weight. Perhaps it helped that he was, and still is, a smoker.

Outwardly relaxed and extremely laid-back, he nevertheless has a sharp and occasionally ruthless business brain. I've lost count of the number of companies he's bought or invested in – hence the "industrialist" tag.

Richard, I should add, has been no less successful, which is equally galling. Nevertheless, it was great to see both of them at Boisdale.

Now, about those letters. In 2012 the late Simon Hoggart had this to say: Bah humbug to the Christmas round robin (Daily Mail).