A very creative team

I had a visit from Macmillan's marketing team, who are already planning the promotion for A Prisoner of Birth. They showed me fourteen different ideas for press and billboard advertising, which we whittled down to three - with some tweaking still to be done. Here's one of my favourites. I haven't had such enthusiasm from my publishers around the world since Kane and Abel. Their commitment and the energy they are putting behind this book would be thrilling for any author.

The art of Ronald Searle

This morning's papers are giving the new St Trinian's film rave reviews, which reminds me that the originals were drawn by that magnificent artist, Ronald Searle. He was recently described in The Times as the greatest illustrator of our age, and by Gerald Scarfe as the cartoonist's cartoonist.

Ronald Searle is now in his eighties. Surely this remarkable man should be given a knighthood, not only for service to his country (he spent four years in a Japanese war camp), but for simply being the best.

Much Ado About Great Theatre

Last night Mary and I went to the Olivier Theatre to see a production of Much Ado About Nothing with Simon Russell Beale and Zoe Wanamaker as Benedick and Beatrice. I have over the years seen these parts played by Donald Sinden and Judi Dench and Robert Stevens and Maggie Smith, so one naturally was sceptical about whether they could equal those high standards. Simon Russell Beale was outstanding, and the moment when he falls into the swimming pool - an old gag - is among the funniest three or four minutes of slapstick comedy I've seen. Zoe Wanamaker was spiky and shrewish, and the fact that they are both, dare I say, perhaps a little older than Shakespeare might have intended, didn't seem to matter. Incidentally, an American friend asked what I was doing in the evening, and I told her that I was going to the National Theatre to see one of England's greatest actors. She'd never heard of Simon Russell Beale, but then you wouldn't, if you think actors can only be found on the big or small screen. I could make a list of performers who deserve the accolade great, but you will only find them on the English stage. Incidentally, I can't wait to see Mr Russell-Beale's Malvolio followed by King Lear.

A couple of years ago I complained bitterly to Sir Hayden Phillips, the chairman of the National, about the food in the Mezzanine restaurant. He promised me that they'd employed a new catering manager, and that things would change - they have. So if you want great theatre and a good meal, you can get them both at the National Theatre.

As the holiday season is about to begin, I won't be able to give you a report on my second visit to War Horse on Mary's birthday on Saturday, and to Stephen Fry's Cinderella at the Old Vic with the rest of the family on Boxing Day, so may I wish all my readers a very happy Christmas and a successful New Year.

End of the year auction

I did my final auction of the year yesterday lunchtime at the Cafe Royal for Graham Gooch, who is raising money for scholarships for young cricketers to bring them up to international standard. Having watched the England team this morning in Sri Lanka, I am bound to say we need it. The auction raised £15,500, making a grand total for the year of £2,099,500. Among those present were former England captains Graham Gooch, John Embrey and Alec Stewart. The star speaker was that legendary Spurs and England footballer, Jimmy Greaves. I had another appointment at 4pm with a film company to discuss Mallory, so had to leave early. On the way back to pick up my car at 5.20pm, I saw several of the guests spilling out of the Cafe Royal - that's what I call a Christmas lunch.

The Queen's semi-detached

The Lords and Commons paid a visit to the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace on Monday evening, to view Art of Italy. Desmond Shawe-Taylor Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, pointed out in his introduction that after the beheading of Charles I, the wicked Cromwell sold off his massive collection, and clever Louis of France got his hands on it. We would otherwise have - outside of Italy - the finest Renaissance collection in the world. Another reason to dislike Cromwell. Charles II did his best to buy back as much as possible but Mr Shawe-Taylor admitted that that amounted to only around 40%. Nevertheless, with two Caravaggios, three Carraccis and two Tintorettos littered around the three rooms of Masters, it was a thrilling exhibition - and quite a cunning way to get in the back door of Buckingham Palace.

Equal Rights

While I am happy to congratulate the Earl and Countess of Wessex on the birth of their son, let me add that I am appalled that this child will now be eighth in line to the throne, pushing the Princess Royal into tenth place. Let us forget the personalities involved for a moment. The archaic law that suggests that every woman should be pushed aside in favour of a man when it comes to ascending the throne is obscene. In 1998 I presented a Primogeniture Bill to the House of Lords which was granted its first and second reading, and at the request of the government (Baroness Jay) I withdrew my Bill on the understanding that the government would bring in its own Bill in the near future. They have not done so. My reasoning was simple. I believe that women are equal to men, if not superior, and when it comes to heads of state, I offer you Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II, with the cry I used in my speech to their Lordships - put up your men! The late Lord Charteris and Lord Blake cornered me in the corridor and offered me their different selections.

My next reason was the problem of Prince William, second in line to the throne, who, should he marry and his wife produce a daughter, she would automatically be tenth in line to the throne - madness; another daughter, and she would be eleventh in line to the throne, ridiculous. If they then produce a son, he would be heir to the throne - constitutional.

My purpose was to put this Bill through the House before Prince William marries, and as each year passes, his marriage clearly becomes a stronger possibility, so I am bound to say to my colleagues in the Lords, and particularly to the Government front bench, get on with it - unless of course you don't believe in equality.

Christmas auction

I had to leave Margaret Thatcher's Christmas party a little early last night to go on to the Hurlingham Club to conduct an auction for the Prince's Trust. The auction duties were split between myself and Mr Eric Knowles (of the Antiques Roadshow), and between us we raised just over £60,000. The room was full of young people who were keen not only to help the charity but to begin an art collection. I noticed several young couples for whom it was of course a big decision to spend as much as £3,000 or £4,000 on a work of art. But if they continue collecting as I have done all my life, when they reach my age they'll have spent a good part of their income, but had an immense amount of pleasure from building their collection.

Carols and Shepherd's Pie

On Monday and Tuesday evenings we held out champagne and shepherd's pie parties, which for me always herald in the beginning of Christmas. The Tenebrae Choir were even more magnificent this year, and their rendition of In the bleak mid-winter was poignant and moving. They ended on a hearty version of We wish you a merry Christmas and I would like to pass that on to all the readers of this blog.

What the Dickens...

On Saturday, Mary and I attended the opening of Nicholas Nickleby at the Gielgud Theatre. The play, adapted from the Dickens novel by David Edgar, falls in two parts, Part I starting at 2pm and ending at 5pm, and then a two hour interval before Part II at 7pm, ending at 10.30pm. This may seem a bit of a marathon, but I can assure you, in the hands of the Chichester Theatre company it is a delight from beginning to end. If you're thinking of something to go to over the Christmas period, I can recommend it for children and grannies . It's not compulsory to see both parts or even both on the same day, but you would be wise to see Part I before Part II - although that is perhaps stating the obvious. The standard of acting is extremely high, and I would single out David Yelland as Mr Ralph Nickleby, the evil uncle. Pantomime villains can often over-play the role, but he gave a beautifully understated performance of a thoroughly evil and unpleasant man. It might amuse people to know that his real-life daughter, Hannah Yelland, is playing his niece in the production. She's just down from St Catherine's College, Cambridge, and this is her first outing on the West End stage. I predict a long and glorious career. Go and see it.

World record 709

I rose early yesterday morning to watch Muttiah Muralitharan take his 709th test wicket when he clean bowled Paul Collingwood, and later admitted that the ball had gone straight on when he'd expected it to turn. So it was a fluke, because Collingwood had played it correctly. Considerable debate has taken place over the past years about whether the Sri Lankan is a chucker. The Australians are in no doubt that he is, while the technical experts who have studied his wrist action carefully give him the benefit of the doubt. As a layman I feel it only fair to point out that he only bowls at 50 miles an hour, not 100, so world class batsmen ought to be able to handle him.

I had the privilege of doing an auction for Muttiah in Jersey a couple of years ago in aid of tsunami victims, and found him the most delightful man, though I am bound to say, I still think Shane Warne is the greatest bowler the game has ever seen - despite the statistics proving me wrong. I just wish England had either of them.

He wore his heart on his sleeve

You will already have heard that tickets for Othello at the Donmar are reportedly changing hands for a thousand pounds. Mr Charles Spencer of The Telegraph has made it clear that he wouldn't have paid a tenner, whilst Mr Benedict Nightingale of The Times gave it four stars. I thoroughly enjoyed the show last night, and thought the verse so well spoken that it made me think more deeply about many aspects of this particular play. Shakespeare's characters tell us on 11 occasions what a good and honourable man Iago is, so by the 7th or 8th time the audience were giggling. If he was writing the play today, he would surely only mention it 3 times. Two other things puzzled me. Why would an intelligent Moor fall for such rubbish, and why didn't Iago make the Moor King of Italy, rather than trying to bring him down? Still, it was a wonderful evening and Chiwetel Eijofor was magnificent as Othello, and despite the damning with faint praise that Ewan McGregor received, I thought he gave an enthralling performance.

As Laurence Olivier, the first Othello I saw, is no longer among us, I shall be fascinated to hear the views of Frank Finlay who played Iago opposite him. Maybe some enterprising newspaper will pay a thousand pounds to send him to the show and seek his view. If you can get a ticket, go and see it. 4 stars.

Troublesome daughters...

Last night Mary and I attended an invition guest night of the RSC's King Lear. Should you ever want to go to the New London Theatre, which is near the Royal Opera House and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, you will again need a guide dog and a compass, and even when you find it, it's not that obvious.

So much has been written about this prodution staring Ian Mckellen as the King that of course anticipation was high. Among the RSC's guests were Sir Derek Jacobi, Sir Antony Sher, Patrick Stewart, Tim West, Dame Eileen Atkins etc etc, so I had a little sympathy for Ian McKellen having to perform in front of his peers. However, that wasn't necessary, because he gave a sublime performance, and Trevor Nunn's direction made one think again about some of Shakespeare's lines and their meaning. I thought Gloucester - not an easy part (William Gaunt) was beautifully played, and the Jester (Sylvestor McCoy), in theory an easy part, was moving; his affection for the King and his comic timing were in the great tradition of the RSC.

I have now seen two truly great Lears - Ian Holm and Ian Mckellen - and I shall not be attempting to pick between them. Tomorrow, I'm off to see Othello at the Donmar, with Chiwetel Ejiofor as Othello and Ewan McGregor as Iago, and I will report back on Thursday morning.

Sparklers

The following evening (Saturday), Mary and I went to see the Royal Ballet perform Jewels, at the Royal Opera House. I don't have a great knowledge of ballet, and can't even pretend to be an enthusiast, but the quality of this performance would have been hard to miss, even by someone as ill-tutored as myself. The ballet was in three parts, and the highlight for me was the section entitled Rubies, although the aficionados in the audience clearly thought otherwise, giving the final dance, Diamonds, the longest ovation.

Mary and I had been invited by Van Cleef & Arpels to join them in the Royal Box (another first for me), and in an adjoining room was a table laid for dinner for 12. The first course was served during the first interval, with wonderful emeralds on display. The main course was served in the second interval, with rubies, and at the end of the show the pudding was served with diamonds. Before you enquire, and I did, most of the pieces were around a million pounds. I ended up going home with a goodie bag containing a very nice brochure with a description of each piece.

The Mistletoe Ball

On Friday night I was at the Dorchester for the second time in a week, this time for the Mistletoe Ball. The event was in aid of Cancer Research, and is run by a dedicated committee whose aim was to make £100,000 (of which the auction raised £37,500) for the charity, and this year they succeeded. I drew the raffle which was for a Mini Cooper, generously donated by a member of the committee, and the winning ticket belonged to the founder of the charity- one of those coincidences you couldn't write in a book. It was clear that everyone in the room was delighted that she won the car. Alison told me yesterday that Chris Beetles and I have passed the two million pounds mark raised for charities this year, and we still have another three auctions in the diary before Christmas.