WW's desert island discs #8

My final choice is a duet, so I get two for the price of one. Fred Astaire you know, but some may not be familiar with Jack Buchanan, who coincidentally showed up on my radar when I listened to Tom Baker, during his moment as a Castaway. I should have included Tom in my "WLTM" list.
Jack Buchanan sums up for me all that is good and quintessentially English, though ironically, Jack was a Scot, borne in Helensburgh. Perhaps my favourite track of the lot, and perhaps then, it is no coincidence that I feel so at home in Scotland, among those Scots who shun Iron Bru and deep fried Mars Bars. (There are a few) Jack Buchanan's tailor was Hawes and Curtis. I got my first bespoke shirt from them when they were in the Burlington Arcade. I passed my driving test in that shirt.  He was one of the few stars of the pre-war years who could afford to take an entire entourage on a passage to America, first class, and then get his shirts sent back on the return journey of the ship, to Hawes and Curtis, for laundering, because the Americans starched everything. Buchanan had a Rolls, and a driver, and a butler, and would dine at Ciro's, which is now part of the Royal Dental Hospital. How very modern. And shirts are important. Never forget that.

As for the books and the luxury. Mmm. The Bible and Shakespeare are important to me, and I get them anyway. I notice that the incredible mathematician, Marcus Du Sautoy, had Hermann Hesse's The Glass Bead Game for his book, so I shall borrow it to read again if that is allowed. I won't speak to him though, because maths frightens me. It is the nearest thing to witchcraft I know.

I shall take as my book, Larousse Gastronomique, which will explain how to cook almost anything, though Janet Street-Porter has a copy as her choice. My luxury would be a cocktail cabinet and a crate of vodka, and if Janet Street-Porter was prepared to swap from time to time, I would get Elizabeth David's Mediterranean Cookery.

If this mythical island contained just me, I could cope. I am quite happy on my own, even though I enjoy company. I would spend a lot of time remembering my life, mostly fondly but always with a sense that I have had some wonderful friends and family, especially my wife, K.


Phew. That's done. Any regular readers who want to try their own, please let me know!