Yes his mind is very sharp. In the 70s, when there was much revolution talk in smoke-filled upstairs rooms in East London pubs (I was there and I was hoping for The Revolution too!), there'd be a Brand-style rant about once every meeting. We'd either smile kindly upon the ranter or get up to remind the ardent fellow that it's all about the nitty-gritty tactical details of getting down to real action. Hopeful rhetoric is all fine but in the end it's just speechifying. Let's see him making himself unpopular outside a factory gate or two!

Steve (whose friend Blair Peach was also in those smoke-filled rooms!)