Mary Beard
My most memorable present came last year: an uncooked (but dead) suckling pig. It caused a minor domestic crisis because it wouldn’t fit in the freezer or oven. Luckily Cambridge is stacked full of institutional catering facilities. So it found a safe, cold home for a week and was cooked up for 20-plus on new year’s eve. Hoping for an ostrich this year.
Martin Kettle
The best present I have ever received was a copy of Wisden when I was 7. Gateway to a lifetime love of cricket and all its lovely nonsense. The worst present I have ever received was an espresso coffee machine which I coveted but which was a disaster and is still in the attic as a permanent reprimand. The best present I have ever given was to take my uncle to Glyndebourne. The worst present I have ever given was to take my mother-in-law to Glyndebourne.
Nick Lane
The best and worst gift I ever received? My two sons, aged seven and four. Apart from the purely personal joy and heartache, their development reveals the best and worst of humanity in microcosm, even politics. How can we change the attitudes and prejudices of society? How can I even influence my own kids, and how will I know whether I did the right thing now, in five years time? The best and worst gift I ever gave: ditto.
More: Jemima Khan, Jon Snow and others tell Prospect about their best presents—and the worst—here
My most memorable present came last year: an uncooked (but dead) suckling pig. It caused a minor domestic crisis because it wouldn’t fit in the freezer or oven. Luckily Cambridge is stacked full of institutional catering facilities. So it found a safe, cold home for a week and was cooked up for 20-plus on new year’s eve. Hoping for an ostrich this year.
Martin Kettle
The best present I have ever received was a copy of Wisden when I was 7. Gateway to a lifetime love of cricket and all its lovely nonsense. The worst present I have ever received was an espresso coffee machine which I coveted but which was a disaster and is still in the attic as a permanent reprimand. The best present I have ever given was to take my uncle to Glyndebourne. The worst present I have ever given was to take my mother-in-law to Glyndebourne.
Nick Lane
The best and worst gift I ever received? My two sons, aged seven and four. Apart from the purely personal joy and heartache, their development reveals the best and worst of humanity in microcosm, even politics. How can we change the attitudes and prejudices of society? How can I even influence my own kids, and how will I know whether I did the right thing now, in five years time? The best and worst gift I ever gave: ditto.
More: Jemima Khan, Jon Snow and others tell Prospect about their best presents—and the worst—here
