Of course, it was on the cards.  He was a very, very old man who had spent the best years of his life in political prison.   I remember that bright and hopeful day in February, 1990 when Mandela walked out of prison and into the world again.  He brought with him a dignity and poise, the like of which we hardly ever see in this world.   He brought no bitterness through those gates.  Together with F W de Klerk he broke the stranglehold of Apartheid in South Africa for ever.

One day I was walking past the entrance to the Guildhall in London.  I stopped as a big black limousine drove out and paused before entering the traffic.  I looked and then did a double take.  Nelson Mandela was sitting in the back, his face close to the window.  He saw my surprise; he grinned and waved.  Then he was…