Greatest Living Englishman
Sir: Now that Sir John Betjeman has popped his clogs, the search is on for the Greatest Living Englishman. Geoffrey Wheatcroft nominates Lester Piggott (Diary, 4 August), but any man who owes his genius to a dumb beast must forfeit the crown.
Sat in a mud hut in the middle of India in unbearable heat with the fan on the blink, I switched on the radio to hear with delight the very pith of Englishness: the gentle voice of Roy Plomley muddling through Desert Island Discs, with a snatch of music, a few old stories and a couple of good jokes from his guest — I forget who. The heat, the dust, the muck slipped away, and I thought of second hand bookshops, bacon sandwiches, cups of tea, Dr Who and Basil Brush, rain, beer and England. Roy Plomley is our man.
John Sweeney
York Street, Sheffield
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