"Stay, girl." "All right." "Carry on, Burnett." "All things pass." "Nothing lasts for ever." "She was a good bitch." "She had a good life, and there are some things one prefers to do oneself." "Actually, that's a service one would like to be available on the National Health." "Or indeed compulsory." "Well, compulsory for some." "The young king there under the watchful eye of the Prime Minister, his guide and mentor in so many ways." "What a rigmarole!" "A full state funeral now." "The woman simply hung around too long." "Better a quick exit than clinging to the wreckage of a lost career." "Some people seem to lack all sense of timing." "The Prime Minister..." "clearly moved at the passing of Britain's longest-serving and first woman prime minister." "Speaking earlier today, he said..." "A remarkable life and a remarkable and inspiring career." "This is and will remain a momentous day in the history of our great country." " What else could I say?" " Certainly not the truth." "They'll ask for a statue on Parliament Square next!" "I want to erase that woman from the public memory, Elizabeth." "I want to wipe her off the board." "I want to be the greatest prime minister since Churchill." "You will be, Francis." "I want to do something about Europe before I go." "I've left my mark on England." "I want to leave my mark on the world." " Over here, sir." " Over here, sir." " Thank you, sir." " One more before you go." " Good afternoon, sir." " Good afternoon." "Ah, Prime Minister!" "Right, sir, this one first, then this one, and that's the Cyprus file." "I thought you might like to glance through the paper." "Thank you, Barry." "That's very thoughtful of you" "People are so very unappreciative, aren't they?" "They do not understand what I have done and what I may do for my country." "Or the burdens you've had to bear for their sake." "They understand nothing." ""How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!"" "Francis, this afternoon you said, "Before I go..."" "You've never said that before." "We all have to go sooner or later, Elizabeth." "Daddy." "Daddy!" "But not yet." "No, not yet." "Far too many things I want to do first." "It's time you considered your own needs." "Not what you can do for your country, but what your country can do for you." "We need a little pension plan." "There's a man I'd like you to meet." "His name is Nures." "He's a Turkish Cypriot." "He's given generously to the party funds." "He genuinely wants to help." " I think he's one of us." " Thank you, Elizabeth." "How do you feel about me now?" "Like a force of nature, perhaps?" "I've been here so long now that, love me or hate me, it's hard for you to imagine anyone else in my place." "Isn't it?" "But there are some who dream of little else." "My honourable friends, of course." "My loyal ministers, my cabinet." "Tom Makepeace, Foreign Secretary, an honourable man." "Bullock, Capstick, Ravenscourt," "Sparrowhawk, Crowe - all honourable men until they sniff out any weakness." "And then the younger generation " "Rayner, Polecutt, Wolfin." "Best kept on the leash and muzzledI" "John Rayner looks as if he'd worry sheepI" "This latest report does feature a number of cases where there seem to be real grievances, and we need to pay special attention..." "It's time to ginger things up, remind them who's the leader of the pack, select a scapegoat and enact a token mounting." "Who shall it be?" "Geoffrey?" "Little Geoffrey Booza Pitt?" "No, not Geoffrey." "Not this time." "We cannot be seen to condemn the very old to disability or illness." "Let's start with Betsy Bourke." "..hospital area managers, making sure that this situation can never arise again." "We must make it clear we are not abandoning the elderly." "Of course not!" "That's why we brought in age insurance." "If they pay, they're OK." "If not, well, it's no skin off our noses." "Damage limitation again, Betsy?" "I'd rather see it as an opportunity to reaffirm some basic principles." "The principle here being the right to live for ever in perfect health?" " Politics is about making choices." " Of course it is!" "And treating each other like human beings." "We can't throw old people out of hospital because they can't pay for treatment!" "We need a safety net." "It's unarguable." "Nothing's unarguable, Tom." "Nothing's unthinkable." "We have too many old people in Britain." "Let's not shy away from the problem." "What are you suggesting, John?" "Euthanasia at 65?" " Of course not, Prime Minister." " I'm very relieved." "I saw beggars on the street yesterday." "I thought the Vagrancy Act had cleared that nuisance off our streets." "There are still problems, Prime Minister." "I don't want to hear about your problems." "I had hoped in this area, as in others, we could have grasped the nettle and challenged the culture of dependency." "I'm very disappointed, Betsy." "Prime Minister, if we abandon the last remaining safeguards in our system, we'll be the pariahs of Europe!" "More than one way of being European." "Thank you." "Thank you all very much." "We'll talk soon, Betsy." "Betsy." " He can be such a bastard." " I know." "I thought I'd given him what he wanted." "He just likes playing games." "Your turn today, someone else's tomorrow." "You'll be back on the mantelpiece, Betsy." "Trust me." "You're a good friend, Geoffrey." "I should think so too." "If at any time you felt inclined for something a little bit closer than that..." "You know how I've always fancied you!" "Geoffrey Booza Pitt, you're an impossible man!" "No, no." "Quite feasible." "Quite feasible in every way." "Believe me." "Come in, Geoffrey." " Prime Minister." " How's Betsy?" "She's quite upset." "She called you a bastard." "I've been called worse." "That was all about John Rayner and Tom Makepeace." "Flushing them out of cover into open ground." " Each of them sees himself as leader." " You don't?" "No." "Rayner doesn't have the intellect, Makepeace doesn't have the guts." "Having so little of either myself, it isn't for me to comment." "They're a couple of sanctimonious shits." "Yes." "Just put the word about discreetly." "The PM is contemplating a cabinet reshuffle." "Not a purge, just two or three key posts." "Absolutely no question of giving up the leadership in the near future." "It might be time to put a bit of stick about." "Order!" "Mr Graham Glass." "Will the Prime Minister tell us the latest manufacturing unemployment figures?" "Hear, hear!" "Come on!" "I put them on your desk this morning, Prime Minister." "I thank the Honourable Gentleman for allowing me to confirm that the unemployment figures are down again this month." "A complete vindication of this government's economic policies." "Yes, but what are the actual figures?" "Does he know what they are?" "He doesn't know." "He doesn't care." "Order!" "Order!" "Madam Speaker, if the Honourable Gentleman is too busy to look up the figures for himself, I am very happy to tell him that the exact figure is 1,875,403." "That's as of the first of this month, of course." "Time's up." "Statement from the Prime Minister." "Next month, the Greek and Turkish presidents of Cyprus will meet in Britain to sign the peace settlement that has eluded all parties for over a generation." "This peace treaty has been made available through the initiatives your Prime Minister was able to set in motion and follow through in some of the toughest" "and most intricate negotiations in recent years." "And thanks is due too to my Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who has, of necessity, been loaded down with much of the donkey work, and I am very grateful to him." "Cyprus has a particular significance for me, if the House will permit me to be personal for a moment." "I spent three crucial years on that beautiful island at a very troubled time." "It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that I grew up there." "Right Honourable and Honourable Members will forgive me this once, I hope, if I find it a little difficult to concentrate on trivial domestic squabbles today." "There is a world elsewhere." "And I'm very proud to have helped to change that world for good... ..and for ever." "Hear, hear!" "Brilliant." "Not one of your better days, Barry." "I'm sure I put the file on your desk, Francis." "It must have slipped your mind." "Anyway, you gave him the figures." "How did you do that?" "I made them up, but I'd prefer not to live quite so dangerously in future!" " Brilliant, FU." "Awesome." " Thank you, Geoffrey." "Claire!" "How are you?" "Did you enjoy that?" "It was an outrageous performance." "Tom Makepeace must be quite rightly furious." "He still puts on one hell of a good show." "Better than anyone." "Such a star!" "At one moment I thought he'd lost the plot, then he stormed back." " Was that real or just for effect?" " Never underestimate him." " I never would, Geoffrey." " Good." "He's talent-spotting." "He might like the look of your..." "CV." "Prime Minister!" "Tom." "You didn't mind, I hope?" "You agreed I would make the statement." "Did I?" "I'm so sorry." "I haven't hurt your feelings?" "I mentioned your contribution." ""Donkey work"?" "The ideas and initiatives were mine." "I did 90% of the negotiations in bloody person!" "This is too important an issue for wounded vanity, Tom." "But I won't hold it against you." "You've done tremendous work on this." "Good man!" "He is a good man too." "Very able, honest, but a bit too ambitious for his own good." "I shouldn't have roughed him up like that, but I just can't resist it." "Enough of that." "Can't fritter all our time away in Westminster." "None of the real business of the world gets settled there." "Oh, excellent!" "Jolly good shot!" "It's the turn of the wrist, Mrs Urquhart." "I wouldn't have thought you'd be such an aficionado, Mr Nures." "I adore cricket." "I adore everything English." "Cricket at Lord's, Oxford, Glyndebourne." "Not enough Wagner for me." "And English women especially." "England has the best women in the world." "You're too kind." "Thank you, Corder." "So sorry to keep you waiting." "What's the score?" "206 for 3." " Jolly good." " Francis, this is Mr Nures." "He's been very generous with his donations to party funds." "Mr Nures, I'm delighted to meet you." "I am very grateful." "It is I who am grateful, Mr Urquhart." "You have created the climate in which a man of vision can express himself fully." "England is the best country now for the merchant adventurer." "I feel at home here." "I love what you're doing." "I see it as a new Elizabethan age - the splendour here, the squalor there." "Life in all its rich complexity." "Lovely shot!" "Thank you, Mr Nures." "I was telling Mr Nures about our dream." "The Urquhart Trust." "We'd love to endow a chair at Oxford or Cambridge." "Far beyond our personal means." "Nothing's impossible, but nothing will come of nothing, huh?" "I'd like to have a talk with you about my native land." "Of course." "Please." "The Cyprus settlement." "Historic, as you rightly say." "Just a few loose ends to tie up." "The exact nature of the sea boundaries." "Just a few fish?" "What if there were oil?" "The seismic survey failed to show up anything out of the ordinary." "I have better information." "It's very exciting." "There is a rich concentration of oil, but only in one particular area." "A company with which I'm associated did some drillings in that part 30 years ago." "What we learned from that, combined with the findings of this recent survey, you see a very rare and poignant business opportunity." "Interestingly enough, it's on the disputed borderline." "So I'm in a position to help you so you can help both our countries." "You are in a position, I believe, to be able to help me and help yourself." "Go on." "There will be an arbitration panel of five international judges." "The Turks nominated a Malaysian and an Egyptian." "The Greeks nominated a Frenchman and a Serb." "Naturally, they'll split 50/50." "But the chairman with the casting vote will be a British judge." "Am I right?" "You are remarkably well informed." "What can I say?" "Knowledge is the name of the game." "If the oil fell into the Greek sector, they'll give the drilling rights to the French, but if it came into the Turkish sector, all sorts of good things become possible." "For your country, for my country." "For me and for you." "Everybody needs a little nest egg." "I couldn't countenance any irregularity." "No, no." "Of course not." "A judge must be absolutely incorruptible, absolutely impartial." "But you can advise on the appointment of the chairman of the panel." "The selection should be made most carefully, I think." "It will be, Mr Nures." "The Urquhart Trust." "It sounds a very noble concept." "It is a very noble concept, Mr Nures." "And one very close to my heart." "It's your baby, am I right, Mrs Urquhart?" "My husband is a little too busy to attend to the details." "I think I understand." "English understatement." "Crazy about it!" "Mrs Urquhart, do you know Cyprus?" "No, I've never been there." "A beautiful country, as your husband knows." "I remember it very well." "I'm expecting him now, but we're going out quite soon." "I'll certainly tell him." "Hold on." " Here he is." " God, what a day!" "Claire Carlsen." "Right." "Hello?" "Oh, yes?" "No, I'd better see it myself." "I'll come straight over." " Sorry." " Tom!" "I'll be there." "It won't take long." "Another cock-up." "I'll meet you there." "I won't be late." "Fine." "Well, off you go, then!" "Oh, your smell!" " Amazing!" " And yours!" "I didn't think you'd come." "I was desperate to see you, be with you." "That malevolent old man!" "I know." "I know." "Come on." "How does he get away with it?" "Because we let him think he can do anything he likes." "He's got to go." "If he won't go gently, he'll have to be pushed." "You could do it." "You should do it." "God, I want you so much!" "Come on, then." "Have me." "Claire Carlsen, member for Box Hill." "She's married to Bjorn Carlsen." "All that money." "A very ambitious girlie...woman." "Sorry." "Woman." "Tom Makepeace is seeing to her bodily needs?" " They're at it like rabbits." " Really?" "Makes one feel exhausted to think about it." "I don't know." "I take very little interest professionally or personally in politicians' private lives, but several of your colleagues are rather rum coves in that respect, yourself not least, if I may put it that way as an old friend?" "Ah." " Evening, Rayner." "Evening, Wolfin." " Evening, Sir Bruce." "Nasty eyes that man's got." "Still, "Sir Bruce"." "Can't take that away." "People say there's not a lot of satisfaction in a knighthood, but most of those people haven't got one." " I bet you'd like one." " I'd adore one." "Absolute bliss." ""Sir Geoffrey Booza Pitt."" "What a mouthful!" "It won't happen, though." "Basically, I'm just a chorus boy." "Now, what do you want?" "You want to go to the House of Lords." "I'd be very honoured to serve my country in that capacity." "Yes, I admit to that." "Bruce, you'll have to be much nicer to FU." "I'm extremely nice to him." "My leading articles are tremendously warm and sympathetic to the chap." "But when 70% of the electorate have had enough of him and say so, the nation's leading newspaper can't ignore it." "Of course it's time for him to go." "Everyone knows it." "He knows it, doesn't he?" "He thinks he's indestructible and perhaps he is." "No one is, Geoffrey." "Look at what happened to Margaret." "No one is indestructible." "No hold-ups ahead." "We should be back in London by nine, sir." "Make sure your seat belt's fastened, sir." "Tosser!" "Yeah!" " Wanker!" " Let's have some fun!" "John!" "You wankers!" "Right, who wants some?" " You..." " Shut up!" " Shit!" "I thought he had a gun." " They were all armed." "Self-defence." "I take it you are up for this?" " Yeah." "Yeah, absolutely, guv." " Right." "Oh, God!" "Don't go yet." "I have to." "I shouldn't be here at all." "Hilary's got a launch party for her new book." "I promised to be there." "Come on, then." "Get your knickers on." "You're missing all those little sausages on sticks." "What is it?" "I hate this flat." "Why?" "Because it's a company flat?" "Because it's his?" "You don't like my husband subsidising your sex life?" "It's a safe house." "It's...anonymous." "Like what we do here... isn't real." "What we do here seems very real to me." "What are you saying?" " Are you saying you want to stop this?" " No!" "Don't ever say that." "You know I'm desperate about you." "You'd better have a good scrub down before you clock on." ""Horizon" next, but now over to Sonia Stevens in the BBC newsroom." "Reports are coming in of a shooting incident on the M14, described as an assassination attempt on the Prime Minister." "Tom!" "Mr Urquhart's car was rammed and forced off the road." "Mr Urquhart sustained head injuries, but his life is not, repeat not, in danger." "As soon as we have any more news, we'll let you know." "I'd better go up there." "Not from here." "Go home." " People will be phoning you." " Yes." "Mr Urquhart!" "Mr Urquhart, welcome back." "You're in hospital." "You're OK." "You're doing fine." "I'm very glad to hear that." "Oh, yes." "I remember now." "Thank you very much." " I think this could be it, John." " Shit!" "Shit, shit, shit!" "It's too bloody soon." "We're not ready." " Hello." "Heard the news." "Shocking!" " No comment." "No comment?" "I'm sorry." "Sir Bruce." "I'm too upset to focus properly." "Deeply shocked." "Gravely concerned." "This kind of lawless behaviour, happy to see it promptly dealt with." "Our thoughts are with Francis Urquhart tonight, praying for his speedy recovery." "Yes, I'm sure they are." "After all, you're not ready yet, are you?" "I was doing my duty." "I was carrying out orders." "I have absolutely no misgivings." "Nor did I have then." "Francis?" "They were terrorists." "Simple as that." "The men in the van?" "What van?" " On the motorway." " I had to shoot them." "There was an olive tree there." "I remember the olive tree burning." "Francis, I think you should rest." "You're not really making much sense, to be frank." "It all seems perfectly clear to me." "Cyprus is back on the map." "Cyprus is back on the agenda." "We're going to make a little history, Elizabeth." "Yes, my dear, we are." "I think I will rest now." "It was awfully good of you to come, Elizabeth." "Mrs Urquhart, a man outside says he's Sir Henry Ponsonby." "He's probably telling the truth." "Does he want to see my husband?" "I told him it's only the immediate family, but he wasn't happy." "He says he's the Cabinet Secretary." "He seems to think it gives him special rights." "I'll have a word with him." "And, Nurse, my husband seems a little confused." "It's important that he speaks to no one until he's more himself." "I'll make sure he's not disturbed." "Thank you." "Elizabeth!" "I came as soon as I could." "How is he?" "They say he's doing very well." "Not up to seeing you, though, I'm afraid." "What happened, Henry?" "I was on my way to the country when I got the call." "I've heard nothing yet." "I say!" "I wonder if you'd mind waiting outside for a moment?" "Yes, I would." "Oh." "Shall we?" "National Health Service hospital, of course." "Extraordinary places, aren't they?" "I've heard that a National Health teaching hospital is the only place to be if you've got something wrong with you." "Really?" "I must remember that." "About this motorway thing..." "Yes." "Well..." "It's not at all clear, but it does seem possible that it was a bit of a nonsense." "Security a little over-zealous in reading the rubric." "You mean they shot three innocent motorists?" "Innocent's a tricky adjective, I find." "Apparently these chaps weren't model citizens." "Anyway, I gather Commander Corder has matters in hand." "He's handling the internal investigation." "Good." "Yes, quite." "Always distasteful, these things." "He's going to be all right, then?" "Francis?" "Oh, yes, they say so." "I'm glad to hear it." "Tricky times." "Look, Henry..." "This may seem brutally practical, but I've been thinking about what we'd do if something happened to Francis." "Or if something didn't." "Death or retirement, in short." "What do you mean?" "Well...a prime minister's salary is laughably small." "And a prime minister's pension must be practically negligible." "And yet one notices that ex-prime ministers..." "How shall I put it?" "..aren't actually short of the odd few million." "Would it be naive of me to ask how this happens?" "It can't all come from writing one's memoirs, can it?" "Hardly that." "It is assumed that the incumbent PM will make his own arrangements for a comfortable retirement." "The Prime Minister is usually in a unique position to make such arrangements." "Sometimes the PM may prefer to leave some of these arrangements to members of his or her family." "I thought that was it." "Well, do let me know if I can be of any help." "Thanks." "I am chairing this cabinet meeting purely as Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister." "The Prime Minister is making a complete recovery." "I'm sure we'd like to minute our good wishes for his speedy return." "And may I just say that none of us could think of a better man to take his place?" "Temporarily, of course." "Do we have more information on the shooting incident?" "I've had an informal report from Commander Corder." "The men were criminals and armed, but it wasn't a terrorist attack." "Road rage, apparently." "The bastards got more than they bargained for." "Commander Corder should be the subject of any investigation." "It's clear there should be a full inquiry." "Absolutely." "But I've just told you what it'll say." "I know the PM will say the same." "Do you?" "Thank you, Home Secretary." "Next business." "Ponsonby and Makepeace and no one else?" " No one else." " Not even little Geoffrey Booza Pitt?" "No one." "We did say you weren't able to receive visitors." "Nevertheless, they should have come." "Mark of respect." "I have perceived a faint neglect of late." "No matter." "Heads will roll." "That bloody little Private Secretary of mine for a start." "I'll get myself someone with a little bit of spark." " I see you're feeling better." " Yes, I am." "Did I give you cause for concern?" "You did." "An intimation of mortality." " I was talking about Cyprus, wasn't I?" " Yes, you were." "Francis, I think Mr Nures is right." "We have a wonderful opportunity to do something for ourselves and our country." "We should do business with Mr Nures." "He'll be a wonderful, necessary man." "Yes, we'll see." " Are you ready, Mr Urquhart?" " Indeed I am." "Wheel that thing away!" " Are you sure?" " Absolutely." "Thank you very much." "You've been most kind." "Elizabeth!" "Goodbye." "Doctor, thank you so much." "Thank you." "I'm not going to risk being photographed in a wheelchair." " What the hell is this, Barry?" " Age Concern." "We thought it was rather a cute idea." "They brought you a birthday card, sir." "I'm not terribly interested in birthdays." "Very kind, but I have a lot of work to do." "Many happy returns, Prime Minister, on the occasion of your 65th birthday tomorrow." "Welcome from all of us to the third age!" "Yes, thank you." "♪ Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you" "♪ Happy birthday, Prime Minister" "♪ Happy birthday to you ♪" "Thank you very much." "I really am most touched." "Smile, please!" "So you thought that was a cute idea, Barry?" "Well, it came from one of the girls in the office." "Not from the opposition?" "You have become a liability!" "Have you seen the papers?" "Lots of good coverage, your birthday..." ""Our pensioner Prime Minister." "Time to FO, FU."" "And three profiles of Tom Makepeace, "the man most likely to succeed"." " That's good coverage?" " Don't be oversensitive." " It's good-humoured stuff, I'd say." " Would you indeed?" "Would you indeed?" "I can't work bloody miracles." "And in his feeble way, the man is right." "He can't work bloody miracles." "Nor can I turn the clock back or halt time or undo what is done." "But I can bloody well go on." "As long as I have strength and will, I can do everything I need to do." " Come in, Geoffrey." " Is this all right?" "FU?" "They said you were asking for me." "Yes, of course it's all right, Geoffrey." " How's your poor head?" " Apparently I'm mending very well." "It's rather painful." "Pain is tiring." "At least it hasn't spoiled your good looks." "A small scar on the temple can be quite distinguished." "Makepeace chaired the cabinet, did he?" " What was he like?" " Very statesmanlike and responsible." "I tried to tempt him into a little aria, but it was no go." "Everyone came on like Little Goody Two-Shoes." "They kept saying," ""I'm sure that's what HE would have wanted."" "It's funny how what you would have wanted is exactly what THEY want." "They have no idea what I want or what I can still do." "I'm appointing a new Parliamentary Private Secretary." "Excellent idea." "Barry Crumb has been neither use nor ornament for quite some time." "God knows where he gets his hair done!" "I have a thought or two if you haven't decided." "You have?" "Good." "It's your birthday party tomorrow." "I don't anticipate it with any enthusiasm." "It's another reminder of increasing age." "Bollocks to that!" "A man is as young as he feels and you know it." "You can still see any of them off." "Look at the fear in their eyes!" "You're still the biggest swinging dick in Westminster, FU." "If one's allowed to put it that way." " General and Mrs Baum." " General, nice to see you." "Like the sodding Sun King, Wolf!" "I wonder how long he thinks he's got." "The longer the better for us." "Let Makepeace flower and fade a bit." " Evening, Tom." " Hello there." "How are you?" "What a limp prick that man is!" "Hello, Sarah." "I was hoping you'd be here." " I hate this dressing up." " Ghastly!" "Yes, well, absolutely." " Good evening, sir." "How are you?" " Very much better." " Mr Nures, how nice to see you." " Excuse me, please." "Good of you to visit." "You must be busy." " For you, I'd drop everything." " Really?" "A very glittering occasion." "Very nice." "And you, Mrs Urquhart, drop-dead gorgeous." "Thank you very much." "Isn't that Sir Clive Watling, the Border Arbitration Chairman, on whom so many of our hopes depend?" " I believe it is." " I'd like to meet him." "I don't think that's a good idea." "I want to keep you all for myself." "Sir Clive, I've wanted to meet you for so long." "The best international jurist in Europe!" "I hear it everywhere." "You must be very much in demand." "I am pretty busy at the moment." "And now this Cyprus business." "Let's go over there." "Come along, Henry." "I'm delighted that a British judge has been chosen to chair the panel." "Are you quite happy with everything?" "Such as your fellow judges on the panel?" "Broadly speaking." "Saladier will be difficult, no doubt." " He always is." " Be as rough as you like with Saladier." "We'd have no problem with that." "We're not too keen on the French at the moment." "I see." "This is an exceptionally prestigious task." "Whoever does this and gets it right goes straight into the history books with a peerage and the usual box of tricks." " Mr Urquhart..." " You're not interested in baubles." "Nor am I." "But in this case, you may just have to submit with a good grace." "You spoke of...getting it right." "You do understand the limits?" "A distinction exists between international politics and international law." "Of course, which you will negotiate with your unrivalled acumen and wisdom." "These sea boundaries may prove to be absolutely crucial." "Yes." "I see." "Well, that all seems quite excellent to me." "Let's join the party, shall we?" "You approve our choice?" "Utterly incorruptible, absolutely impartial." "He just can't stand Frenchmen, and who can blame him for that?" "Ravishing, yeah?" "He's never here." "You know her, don't you?" "Of course you do." "She used to help out with your research in foreign affairs." " Is that her husband?" " Yes, I think it is." "Bjorn Carlsen." "Someone told me that man's worth 200 million." "Can that be right?" "He's got all that money and can't keep his wife on the straight and narrow." "Have you heard anything about that?" "No." "No, I haven't." "Shags like a rattlesnake that's what I heard." "Ambitious with it too." "Mind you, I could be wrong." "Excuse me, Geoffrey." "1900, right." "That one..." "It's very different with me." "Would you excuse me just for a moment?" "I'll be right back." " Sarah, how lovely to see you." " And you." " How are the girls?" " Quite young ladies now." "Be in touch." " Prime Minister." " Mrs Carlsen." "It's lovely of you to invite us." "We're pleased that you could both come." "Your husband must be very busy." "Yes, he is." "Has Geoffrey Booza Pitt said anything to you about me ?" "He mentions you from time to time." "I can't recall anything specific." "He thinks very highly of you, as does everyone else, it seems." "I understand you might be looking for a new PPS quite soon." "Yes." "And?" "I'm sure this isn't the form, but I'd like you to consider me for the job." "I'd love to do it and I think I'd do it very well." "Well, Mrs Carlsen, it's very kind of you to make yourself available." "Will you let me think about this?" "I don't have to decide straightaway." "I'm sorry." "It's very cheeky of me." "Indeed it is, but you've done yourself no harm by it." "You'll have to excuse me now." "Yes, of course." "Thank you for listening." "No, no." "Not this one." "You might very well think that." "I couldn't possibly comment."