Peter Bazalgette
Worst gift: a golden “good luck” acorn bestowed on me by an elderly Barbara Cartland whom I was interviewing for TV. Within 24 hours both my house and car were broken into. Thanks, Barbara.
George Magnus
One of the contenders for best present received was a recent photographic session with my wife and four children. The session was a lot of fun, and a couple of large canvas pictures now adorning the walls at home are a constant source of pride and smiles. The best present I ever gave is the horse I bought my wife, whose enjoyment of her equestrian pursuits seems boundless.
The worst present I ever received has to be a self-assembly football table. Once up, it was great. But putting the wretched thing together with instructions that could have been in Martian, and some key screws missing on a Christmas afternoon after an appropriate lunch was the pits, and the source of not a few arguments. A day to forget. The worst present I ever gave was a long time ago, and I’ve learned my lesson. With a heavy workload as the only excuse, and the days to Christmas whizzing by, I really thought my wife wanted a fancy new iron to replace the one that was past its sell-by date. I still remember the look.
Jim Murphy MP
Best gift received: Red chopper bike when I was 12 in 1979. Loved it so much I bought my wife the same bike for her 40th birthday. Don't think she has ever used it—but I have! The only disappointing thing is that health and safety has got the better of the design and that famously placed gear stick has been moved to a safer spot.
More: Jemima Khan, Jon Snow and others tell Prospect about their best presents—and the worst—here
Worst gift: a golden “good luck” acorn bestowed on me by an elderly Barbara Cartland whom I was interviewing for TV. Within 24 hours both my house and car were broken into. Thanks, Barbara.
George Magnus
One of the contenders for best present received was a recent photographic session with my wife and four children. The session was a lot of fun, and a couple of large canvas pictures now adorning the walls at home are a constant source of pride and smiles. The best present I ever gave is the horse I bought my wife, whose enjoyment of her equestrian pursuits seems boundless.
The worst present I ever received has to be a self-assembly football table. Once up, it was great. But putting the wretched thing together with instructions that could have been in Martian, and some key screws missing on a Christmas afternoon after an appropriate lunch was the pits, and the source of not a few arguments. A day to forget. The worst present I ever gave was a long time ago, and I’ve learned my lesson. With a heavy workload as the only excuse, and the days to Christmas whizzing by, I really thought my wife wanted a fancy new iron to replace the one that was past its sell-by date. I still remember the look.
Jim Murphy MP
Best gift received: Red chopper bike when I was 12 in 1979. Loved it so much I bought my wife the same bike for her 40th birthday. Don't think she has ever used it—but I have! The only disappointing thing is that health and safety has got the better of the design and that famously placed gear stick has been moved to a safer spot.
More: Jemima Khan, Jon Snow and others tell Prospect about their best presents—and the worst—here
