A Groovy Kind Of Love
AFTER the pretender, comes the, well, pretender. And the Times was there to see Tony Blair deliver his last address as leader of the Labour Party to conference.
Unlike other showmen (Telegraph – “Showman Blair steals the spotlight from Brown”), leaders of political parties rarely get to do it all over again. This really was Tony’s final curtain call. It was one more time with even more feeling.
Not for Tony a dusting off for a final farewell tour. When in his dotage, Tony will not play his part in some new Labour revival show, appearing on the end of the pier with Clare Short, Peter Mandelson and all the surviving gang from yesteryear.
Although it would be great if he did. As the Real Labour Conference kicked off in the Bournemouth International Centre, over at the end of the nearby pier, the New Labour Conference was playing.
Prezza (in novelty car): Parp! Parp!
Outta me way, knob end.
Tony: I can’t, I’ve no…
Crowd: Reverse gear.
Parp! Parp!
But for now it’s just Tony. Well, not just Tony, because by his side is the fragrant Cherie. On the cover of the Times, Cherie hugs her man. He gazes outwards, inspired and enthralled by the lighting at Manchester’s GMEX Exhibition Centre. She clasps him in her arms. Her eyes moisten. Her lips quiver.
Cherie is not without influence. Indeed, having supplied us with the highlight of Gordon Brown’s speech (her reported quip that Gordon was lying when he told delegates that it had been “a privilege to work with the most successful ever Labour leader and Labour prime minister”), Cherie enlivens Tony’s words.
Yesterday, Tony told a gag. In between the tears and emotion he made them laugh. Having thanked his family for their help through the years, he turned to the subject of his wife.
“Cherie!” he said. “Well!.. At least I don’t have to worry about her running off with the bloke next door.”
How they laughed. It was a decent gag – good enough for the Times to look into. The joke is repeated again in paper’s article “Dawson’s ghost saves the day”, and again in the paper’s conference sketch. That’s three times the joke is told in the Times.
The paper likes this one. And it tells us that the gag was a team effort, a joke by committee. Tony told it, but it was down to Alistair Campbell and speechwriter Phil Collins. No, not that Phil Collins, singer of groovy love songs – at least we think not…
Posted: 27th, September 2006 | In: Uncategorized Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
