Montpelier Christmas

In 1988 Brian Sibley accepted – with serious misgivings – the job of interviewing Roald Dahl. He’d heard the children’s book author could be difficult. “If he doesn’t like you or your line of questioning, you can find yourself being shown the door quicker than you can say “Oompah-Loompas!” But the interview turned out much better than he’d imagined. They chatted for over an hour and a half over whisky, chocolates and lunch. Here’s one of my favorite excerpts:

Roald Dahl: “I think probably kindness is my number one attribute in a human being. I'll put it before any of the things like courage or bravery or generosity or anything else.”

Brian Sibley: “Or brains even?”

Roald Dahl: “Oh gosh, yes, brains is one of the least. You can be a lovely person without brains, absolutely lovely. Kindness - that simple word. To be kind - it covers everything, to my mind. If you're kind that's it.”