Dream Speakers

[Jessica]

Hello all!

Just polishing up the term card before we post it publically, but meanwhile, and since it's break and we all have acres of time on our hands, are there any big, huge, amazing speakers you've always wanted to see in LPH? Even if they were to give a long address and give questions, we can't get them unless we invite them!

Post your ideas here and I'll write to (most of) them!

Happy Inauguration!

J

[Jessica]

Oh come on! Someone respond. You never had a dream speaker?!

[Philip Goose]

Jeremy Clarkson.

[RandomMusings]

Tom d'Ardenne

[Dave the Explosive Newt]

Vaguely feasible:
Dr Tony Butler (gave an excellent seven minutes in an AIDS debate which I unfortunately missed)
Sir David Carter (former chief medical officer. Very smart guy)

Probably not feasable:
Lord Robert Winston
Richard Dawkins
Stephen Fry
Boris Johnson

[Jessica]

Verrrry interesting. What woud you like to hear Stephen Fry speak about?

[Dave the Explosive Newt]

Well, I'm sure there are any number of things, however I've heard him speaking about using podcasts, blogs etc. as a publishing medium and would love to hear more on that. THB the internet is the death of the written word? Given that he publishes extremely prolifically on his blog but is also a very well recognised author I'd be interested to know where he stood.

[Eliot Wilson]

Dawkins has spoken before (back in 2001-02, I think), so he's not implausible. I wasn't impressed. Massively arrogant and self-satisfied. Clearly thought that anyone who disagreed with him was simply to stupid to understand the argument.

[Tweedle-Dum]

Gen. Sir Mike Jackson would be a good one to have.

[Philip Goose]

How about Michael Jackson?

[Bizarre Atheist]

Danny Wallace
Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Sir Chris Hoy (I could be of help with contact details on this one, via my flatmate)
That William Wales chap
JK Rowling (received an honorary degree not long ago)
Paula Radcliffe
Robert Peston
Sir Terry Wogan (on Eurovision)

...and another vote each for Clarkson, BoJo, Dawkins and Stephen Fry



...and DarDar.

[Jessica]

I like these ideas guys. I think most of these people are people who wouldn't agree to debate, but might happily give an address.

All people we haven't tried yet this year as well (except JK Rowling, who said no in summer) so I'm going to look into getting them up to St Andrews. It'll probably be for the next convenor though.

PS Dave, can you send me those contact details?

[Laura]

A plan would be to get hold of the Oxford Union booklets from their last couple of terms- whoever they had is obviously willing to speak in a debate or give an address. Some of them will obviously have done so because Oxford is easier to get to from London than St Andrews is, but never the less, it shows they don't detest the idea of speaking and they're worth a shot.

What about Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall- because of the campaign he's embarked on, he might be prepared to speak if it gets him a bit of press coverage?
I really like Dan Snow (historian, frequently reports on The One Show)
Dawn Porter (could talk about endless female orientated media stuff)
Edward Stourton (now sort of out of a job!)
Andrew Graeme Dixon (that's just to fulfill my own desires, really, but could be wonderful on whether modern art is rubbish or whether the money involved is crazy)
Kevin Spacey (a complete fantassy, but surely worth writing to about funding for the arts or something- even if it's only to get the rejection letter!)
Will Self
Alan de Botton
John Sessions
Nigel Lawson (frequently does the Oxford Union)
Tony Benn (we try every year and he never has time but the lovely card from him is worth it...)
Try and get Andrew Neil- he's frequently filming or out of the country but ask if you can book him miles and miles in advance!
Have you even asked Donald Findlay this year? ASK HIM!
Peter Tatchell
Craig Murray (combine it with one of his trips to Dundee)

Have you guys just gone through the lists of MPs and MSPs and written to every single one of them? You will find that a few will take you up on it and significantly improve the quality of the odd debate. There are loads that have connections to St Andrews and come back again and again so you should definitely do this, especially as there has been no parliamentary this year...

Good luck!

Laura

[Dave the Explosive Newt]

Richard Dawkins daughter of course recently graduated from St As so he might be persuadable to return... not sure he is the right candidate for an address though, I'd much prefer to see him in a debate.

Do you think Donald Trump would come and talk on the subject of globalisation, mega-corporations etc? Given his recent investments in golf in Scotland, I wonder if he just might do it?

[Owen Wilton]

I've probably said this in one of my emails (of which there are too many, I apologise), but what about:

-for something on Northern Ireland, Jonathan Powell (Tony Blair's Chief of Staff 1997-2008, a key figure in the peace talks, about which he wrote a memoir)

-his brother, something Powell (incidentally, they each pronounce their surname differently. One goes with Powell, as in Baden Powell, and the other goes with Po-ell. Guess which is which...) who was Margaret Thatcher's Private Secretary.

They're interesting but not so interesting they're out of our league, so to speak. Go for the eminences grises. (If that's even a phrase. It's too late for French.)

For a debate about the arts, Brian Sewell. Sublime sarcasm should be encouraged, I feel.

More later.

[Owen Wilton]

We should invite Geoffrey Robertson QC and Philippe Sands QC, both exceptional barristers specialising in human rights/international law. They write for a lay readership as well, and seem very lucid. GR was in some landmark censorship cases, and argued in what was (I think) the last private prosecution for blasphemy, brought by Mary Whitehouse, whose name I always confuse, rather amusingly, with that of Amy Winehouse.

http://www.matrixlaw.co.uk/WhoWeAre_Mem ... ndsQC.aspx

Cherie Blair is also a member of the Matrix Chambers. Perhaps she'd agree to speak in a feminism debate. She's started a new foundation for women, I think.

http://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/barriste ... son_qc.cfm

Matthew Parris, the Times columnist, is usually quite good.

What about Lynne Truss? We could match her in an event with Stephen Fry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eats,_Shoots_&_Leaves

These are bizarre suggestions. I need to go to bed.

[Owen Wilton]

If we ever need British neoconversatives, other than Douglas Murray, we should try the Henry Jackson Society. I don't know if they use that label themselves, however.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Jackson_Society

[Eliot Wilson]

Sir Charles, Lord Powell of Bayswater, you'd be talking.

[Anon.]

Jonathan Powell [...] his brother, something Powell (incidentally, they each pronounce their surname differently. One goes with Powell, as in Baden Powell, and the other goes with Po-ell. Guess which is which...)

Er, Baden-Powell is pronounced Po-ell.

[Owen Wilton]

Sorry. I'd heard it pronounced otherwise. The point I'm driving at is that the pronunciation varies. Do you think the Po-ells/Powells would be good speakers, Anon.? If not, then who would you invite?