Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Interviewed by Alan Macfarlane and edited by Sarah Harrison. Lord Smith asked that the following small edits need to be made:
1. It was my grandmother, not my grandfather, who was born within the sound of Bow Bells.
2. My first Munro was Beinn Liath Mhor, not Beinn Liathach. The incorrect version appears twice.
3. When I talk about my thesis, just after the reference to the leech-gatherer, there’s a statement “the poem is exploring the relationship” - this should be “the thesis is exploring the relationship”.
4. There’s a statement that doesn’t make sense, when I talk about going into politics: “one thing I have realised over time is that I was not a political figure”. Can this be deleted please?
The film has not been edited, but please note the above.
Interviewed by Alan Macfarlane and edited by Sarah Harrison. Lord Smith asked that the following small edits need to be made:
1. It was my grandmother, not my grandfather, who was born within the sound of Bow Bells.
2. My first Munro was Beinn Liath Mhor, not Beinn Liathach. The incorrect version appears twice.
3. When I talk about my thesis, just after the reference to the leech-gatherer, there’s a statement “the poem is exploring the relationship” - this should be “the thesis is exploring the relationship”.
4. There’s a statement that doesn’t make sense, when I talk about going into politics: “one thing I have realised over time is that I was not a political figure”. Can this be deleted please?
The film has not been edited, but please note the above.
