Managed to keep up with most of the news over the last couple of weeks, and was grateful for the excellent coverage of the death of Nelson Mandela. A bit hagiographic at times, but in this case understandably so. The best single piece I saw was an interview with Morgan Freeman, done at the time of the making of the fine movie Invictus. The actor gave penetrating insights into the private Mandela, noting, for example, the sense of quietness, almost reserve in company of the ex-President and, most fascinating of all, that Mandinga saw himself as a failure on account of the troubles of his family life. Freeman also gave a brilliant reading of Henley's poem, in an unexpectedly prosaic, casual style that will stay with me for a long time - and seemed in itself an oblique comment on Mandela and his style of leadership.
There was also an excellent BBC Question Time shown today, recorded in South Africa with a very mixed panel, including Pik Botha of all people, dealing with the very real problems of the nation. This seemed wonderfully appropriate given the fact that Mandela was above all a man who dealt with incredibly difficult realities with a kind of supreme grace and charity. The definition of grace under pressure.
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