The 13th Lord Belhaven and Stenton, politician, farmer and champion of Polish causes – obituary
He served in the Lords as a Tory peer, switched to the SNP in disgust at Edward Heath, then returned when Margaret Thatcher took over
Lord Belhaven and Stenton
The 13th Lord Belhaven and Stenton, who has died aged 93, was a long-serving hereditary peer who sat as a Conservative, then briefly switched to the SNP before returning to the Tory fold; in later years, before losing his seat in the Blair government’s reform of the House of Lords, he made his name as a champion of Poland.
Today is the fiftieth anniversary of Britain’s adoption of decimalisation.
From having 240 pennies to the pound, twelve pennies to a shilling and twenty shillings to the pound we moved – not quite overnight – to the system we know now.
Generations of schoolchildren breathed a sigh of relief.
It’s much easier to calculate in tens (fingers help). But a lot harder to deal with the sums involved in counting in twelves. Especially with fractions!
Sarah Jagger’s fun feature in this week’s issue is a nostalgic look back at those days.
Sarah’s article reminded me of a feature I’d spotted in an old issue of the “Friend” when we were researching for the 150th anniversary souvenir edition.
Trauma Drama
GSTAAD Lord Belhaven and Stenton, a wonderful man and the quintessential English gentleman, died at 93 just before the end of the crappiest of years, but Robin was lucky in a way. No tubes, no hospital beds, not another Chinese virus statistic. His widow, Lady Belhaven, gave me the bad news over the telephone, and although she was devastated after a very long and happy marriage, she is very smart and realizes that it was a perfect death. He asked for a gin and tonic, went to bed, and never woke up.
Acknowledging the death of others is one thing, accepting one’s own demise another. That’s why old men send young men to die in war, a confidence trick perfected after the Napoleonic Wars. Greek and Roman generals led from the front, as did many kings who followed. Prince Bagration died in the Battle of Borodino, Sir Thomas Picton in Waterloo; Prince General Blucher, age 73, had two horses shot from under him while charging to save the day for Wellington. I suppose one�
photo credit: Bigstock
GSTAAD Lord Belhaven and Stenton, a wonderful man and the quintessential English gentleman, died at 93 just before the end of the crappiest of years, but Robin was lucky in a way. No tubes, no hospital beds, not another Chinese virus statistic. His widow, Lady Belhaven, gave me the bad news over the telephone, and although she was devastated after a very long and happy marriage, she is very smart and realizes that it was a perfect death. He asked for a gin and tonic, went to bed, and never woke up.
Acknowledging the death of others is one thing, accepting one’s own demise another. That’s why old men send young men to die in war, a confidence trick perfected after the Napoleonic Wars. Greek and Roman generals led from the front, as did many kings who followed. Prince Bagration died in the Battle of Borodino, Sir Thomas Picton in Waterloo; Prince General Blucher, age 73, had two horses shot from under him while charging to save the day for We