The John Cleese interview

I got to meet John Cleese the other day. Having interviewed him for Time Out, I was allowed to attend his seminar on creativity in business. That was quite good — he spent a great deal of the time convincing everyone in the room that one needs to set aside ‘tortoise mind’ time. That’s when you get out of your problem-solving hectic consciousness and into zone-out mode, so your intelligent unconscious can do its thing.

After the three-hour seminar, I got to spend some alone time with Cleese in a private room. Well, okay, two of his helpers were there too, but it was intimate. He had slipped off his shoes and put his feet on the table — I could smell the slight odour of his socks. He told me he wasn’t much impressed by Hong Kong because it didn’t seem to have much of a cultural heart (arts-wise). He asked what he should do with his spare Friday afternoon, and I suggested he wander around Peng Chau.

Anyway, I know it’s been long-promised, so I’m posting the transcript of my recent interview with him. I’ve cut out some of the boring stuff about his seminar, because you probably don’t want to read it — it’s just Cleese in rote recital mode. He’s more funny when engaged in the off-the-cuff witticisms.

A very nice chap.

 

What can I tell you, Hamish?

Well, we’re going to have a chat about your impending appearance in Hong Kong, where you’re going to give a business seminar, I believe, about creativity in leadership – is that right?

That’s right.

Well, what do you want to know? I’m coming to Hong Kong and it lasts in the order of three hours, but we have some breaks, and basically it’s divided into three acts, with a short break after the first act, a longer sandwich break after the second, because this is not a seminar about giving people as much information as possible, it’s the opposite of the machine gun approach, it’s much more trying to give people an actual experience of what it is like to be in a more creative frame of mind.

[Talks off-phone to person at wine shop] Hamish, just give me a minute. [Talks more] Sorry about that, I’m sitting here outside somewhere. I’ve just been told they closed in three minutes. [More talking] So anyway, Hamish, go on.

They won’t keep the shop open especially for you?

Hamish, they have no idea who I am.

Oh, that’s a great offence.

No idea at all.

I saw Bill Clinton

Note: not my photo, and probably not even taken in Hong Kong.

A couple of days ago, I managed to swindle myself a media pass to see Bill Clinton speak at Hong Kong’s Grand Hyatt, alongside a few notable others that I won’t bother noting, at the Clinton Global Initiative’s first meeting outside the US. I took notes, intending to either use them as column material, or, at least, for a substantive post on this blog. Fatigue took over and I ended up doing neither.

I had a bad seat — while speaking at the podium about the import of the CGI, Clinton was blocked from my line of sight by the large screen that I had to instead watch him on — so the occasion of his great presence in the same room as me was somewhat diminished. Watching him on the big screen, however, he seemed rather old. He sometimes slurred his words, sometimes had an odd lisp, and he spoke out of a small opening formed by a slight pursing of his lips on the right side of his mouth. Aside from TV soundbites, I haven’t seen Clinton speak, so perhaps this is normal. But he certainly looked as if he is aging fast.

When he was chairing a panel on climate change, however — the panel was made up of the president of the Philippines, China’s foreign minister, a Japanese MP, an Indian philanthropist, and a Hong Kong businessman — he was by far the sharpest of the speakers. Despite his continual push for examples of how states and businesses can build a more environmentally sustainable society while still making money, the panel members instead spoke about how concerned they were about sustainability and how well they had already done. By the end of the panel, Clinton seemed frustrated by the lack of measurable progress.

The opening remarks and the panel were also unremarkable for news. Despite the fact that ,just hours before, Barack Obama had officially nominated Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, Bill made no mention of of such a thing — except to silently accept the congratulations from other panel members. That morning, the New York Times also reported that the US had been in recession for 12 months — the first such announcement. No mention of that was made, either.

I left the event underwhelmed, but pleased for the opportunity to see an American president in the flesh.