'The Queen was at the next table. I caught her staring at me during the national anthem and half-wondered whether someone had pointed me out as the author of that incident which the Mail on Sunday had splashed all over the front page of its review section, about which she would not have been too pleased.'

No longer in the tent, but not quite out of it, celebrated diarist Chris Mullin gives his take on the twelve turbulent years since he left Parliament. With his trademark wit and keen eye for the absurd, he recounts events from the fall of New Labour to the death of the Queen. Rich in anecdote, this candid new volume includes encounters with movers and shakers from all political parties and with citizens from all walks of life, from dustmen to dukes.

'One of Mullin's charms is his readiness to like people who don't echo his politics.' Jenni Russell, Sunday Times

'Wickedly indiscreet and elegant.' Mail on Sunday

'He will join Chips Channon, Duff Cooper and Alan Clark in the pantheon of truly great diarists.' Evening Standard

'These are the sharpest and most revealing political diaries since Alan Clark's.' The Guardian

'Gems sprinkled across every page.' The Observer

'Justly celebrated as masterpieces of the genre.' New Statesman