Wycombe Liberal Democrats

I had a very interesting lunch with a very old friend, Nicholas Vardy. He is an American who lives in London. He is also the Moderator of the London Junto Society. The original Junto Society was set up by Ben Franklin in 1727 as an intellectual discussion group in America- it is the precursor to the American Philosophical Society. Nick is one of the brightest people I know- two degrees from Stanford and a law degree from Harvard, he was also a Fulbright scholar and speaks native Hungarian and fairly fluent German and Italian. The London Junto attracts some extremely informed people to discuss a very broad range of issues, loosely connected with investment. A veritable modern-day symposium indeed!

He reminds me that Franklin attended meetings of the Hellfire Club in West Wycombe caves and knew the local area very well. We discuss the current international position, with not much agreement on the Bush Administration. Nevertheless he makes so many interesting points about the Anglo-American tradition. He is delighted when we discuss John Hampden- the “father of his country” as Clarendon calls him. In the National Liberal Club there is a statue of Hampden, and should the Liberal Democrats win the seat, we agree that this statue should be garlanded with laurel!