The heat was on

It was a hot day, stifling in fact. But up aloft at the headquarters of the Department of the Environment in Marsham Street, London, the minions who rule the roost had pulled every window in the Secretary of State's office tightly shut. This was because there was so much construction work going on outside you couldn't hear yourself speak inside.

As the big meeting went on, heads drooped and eyes were rubbed. The room got hotter and hotter until Tony Baldry struggled to his feet, crossed the room and flung the windows wide open, gasping: 'I'd rather be deaf than dead.'