46664

Ever since I lived in Africa for a year I have been awed by the presence and character of Nelson Mandela. One of the highlights of last year was seeing him in the flesh as he unveiled his statue in Westminster (I also enjoyed the crowd's refusal to let fawning Ken Livingstone and Gordon Brown seize the limelight, though they both shamefully (and predictably) tried to).
Now he's back in London and the rich and the powerful are grovelling in his presence. Good old Madiba - he's here to party, and also to promote the foundation named after his old prisoner ID number, 46664. What a wonderful example to Africa, and to the world.