Every so often I will share tales, stories and anecdotes that have not made it into my script of Marsh Fen and Town South Lincolnshire and Beyond. This one is about the former Member of Parliament for Ely, the Liberal Clement Freud.
When I was young I stood next to Clement Freud at Ely water raft race in the heart of the Cambridgeshire Fens, enjoying the chaos of flour bombs and water bombs in the river before me. Whilst I recognised him, to me he was the the guy off the Pedigree Chum advert that set next to his dog Henry. Similarly, my children used to call Lenny Henry, "the Premier Inn man" much to my amusement.
Clement Freud was a chef, food critic, broadcaster, writer and humourist. A bit like Jay Rayner without hair. He was MP for Ely throughout most of the 1970's into the 80's. The following anecdote I recall is perhaps a lesson to any new politician.
Clement Freud was popular in Ely and key to his popularity was how he made his constituents feel. Each week he got his assistant to scour the local paper and send appropriate celebratory cards to newly weds, births, anniversaries as well as condolence cards to next-of-kin from their local M.P.
The problem was he did not know for certain the people that he had sent the cards to as he could sign a few dozen each week. This became a problem one day when a middle-aged woman came up to him in the streets of Ely and thanked him for his "kind card". Guessing by her age and demeanour he assumed he had sent a condolence card and replied, "Yes I was sorry to hear the news." Only for the woman to go off upset in a huff at what he had said. She had just given birth to a bouncing baby boy!
Ever since that unfortunate response Clement Freud learned to use the stock reply, "It was the least I could do." Thus he avoided offending any more constituents.
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