Tom Lehrer had a wonderful line about failure, in the intro to Alma, he claimed 'it is a sobering thought, for example, that when Mozart was my age, he had been dead for two years.' Astonishingly, there is an online debate about how old that makes them, which isn't really the point. Mozart died at 35 .
On this theme, one of my contemporaries at university has just taken over at Policy Exchange, having run a relatively successful anti-European think tank up to now. Many congratulations are in order as, given the imminent (and overdue) change of government, by the time we return for our college gaudy in 2010, he is therefore likely to be the most prominent of our intake, though presumably waves of bankers will be richer.
By contrast, I have done little. It is even touch and go as to whether I will even complete the doctorate by M-day. I have six years.
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I am also trying hard not to let this worry me. I was supposed to have played Hamlet before I was 30. Looking somewhat unlikely now.
One of my direct contemporaries from Cambridge has just had his first book published, Booker longlisted and optioned by Hollywood.
The only thing that helps me sleep at night is the fact that he was an unremitting twat.
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