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Hello and welcome to Spectator Out Loud. Every week, a few of our favourite writers read out

their articles in the latest issue. This week we've got another set of five brilliant writers.

First up, we'll have Harry Mount, the editor of the oldie, who's reading his diary.

Here's Harry Mount.

Barry Humphreys would have been 90 on the 17th of February.

To commemorate his life, Radio 4 is broadcasting Barry Humphreys gloriously uncut that evening.

For the programme, I recalled the joy of talking to Barry about the column he wrote for the oldie.

What a delight to it was to hear from the great diplomat, Sir Les Patterson, on everything from Australian politics

to the history of lesbianism. A lot of high-achieving shealers like Cleopatra,

Mary Queen of Scots, Bodiceeer, Dusty Springfield and Florence Nightingale,

all paddled the pink canoe at some stage of the game.

One day he asked my colleague Penny about me. On hearing I wasn't married, he said,

Deadpan, is he a vagina decliner?

Barry had immaculate manners and so asked Penny not to pass on the question.

She did, though, and it was the funniest thing I've ever heard.

The cartoonist Nick Garland, a spectator regular,

co-created legendary Australian Barry McKenzie with Barry.

Nick's also on the Radio 4 programme.

He told me of an extraordinary dinner party held at Peter Cook's house in 1964.

...