Despite fistfight, “speech went fine”

@font-face { font-family: “Times”; }@font-face { font-family: “Cambria”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }By David Murray, editor, Vital Speeches of the Day

In an account of life in high British speechwriting circles, I enjoyed this little anecdote about Tony Blair’s days as head of the Labour Party:

His former press secretary, Alastair Campbell, even recalls one occasion when his writing was interrupted by a row with Peter Mandelson over what clothes Blair should wear. This argument ended up with the future Prime Minister physically separating his two most trusted advisers after Mandelson started throwing punches at his colleague. Still, “speech went fine,” Campbell later wrote.

Of course it did.

Readers, with Halloween coming, share with us the weirdest moment from your scary speechwriting career: [email protected].