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Without hesitation, repetition or deviation

Two weeks ago, a man called Clement Freud died. He was84 years old. He was a remarkable man, and very well- known and liked in Britain. He made us laugh, and I thought I would make a short podcast about him.

Clement was born in Berlin in Germany. His father was an architect and his grandfather was the famous psychologist Sigmund Freud. Clement’s family were Jewish, and they left Germany in1933 when Hitler came to power, and moved to London.

Clement went to school in London, even though at first he could speak hardly any English. When he left school, he became an apprentice cook in the kitchens of one of London’s grandest hotels.

That was the start of Clement’s first career. How many careers do most people have?

Many people– perhaps most people– do the same sort of work for the whole of their working lives. They are a teacher, or a farmer, or an engineer, or a driver, or a civil servant. Clement Freud had five different careers.

First, he worked in restaurants. He learnt about good food and good cooking. He opened his own night club.

Second, he became a writer. He wrote books for children. He wrote books about food. We British, as you know, do not understand how to cook properly, but we love books and TV programmes about food.

For many years, he wrote articles for newspapers, about food, sport and life in general. He was particularly keen on horse racing.

Third, Clement Freud went into advertising. He advertised dog food, in a series of TV ads in the1960 s and1970 s. The advertisements became classics, and most people who were alive and watched TV at that time remember them.

There is a link to one on the website, and a transcript. His co- star was a dog called Henry. Clement and Henry looked very alike– they both had long faces and a mournful expression.

Fourth, Clement Freud became a politician. He surprised everyone except himself by winning a seat in Parliament for the Liberal Party. He remained an MP for14 years.

And fifth, he became a very well- known radio personality. For over40 years, he appeared regularly on a BBC radio game called Just a Minute.

The rules of Just a Minute are simple. The contestants are each given a subject and immediately they have to talk about it, for a minute. Easy, you may say Anyone could do that.

However, they have to talk without hesitation, repetition or deviation. “ No hesitation” means that you are not allowed to stop and say“ um– er” when you cannot think what to say next. “ No repetition” means that you are not allowed to use the same word twice.

And“ no deviation” means that you must stick to the subject, you are not allowed to talk about something else.

If you hesitate, or repeat, or deviate, one of the other contestants will challenge you, and if the chairman agrees with the challenge, the other contestant takes up the subject and tries to talk– without hesitation, repetition or deviation– for the rest of the minute.

It really is very difficult to speak without hesitation, repetition or deviation for a whole minute. Try it some time! You could even try it in English!