Sir Clement Freud, the broadcaster and raconteur, was laid to rest in a laughter-filled funeral which honoured his three greatest loves: family, food and a flutter on the horses.
For a man with a passion for the sport of kings, the service at St Bride's church in London was a fitting send-off. The choir sang Fugue for Tinhorns from the musical Guys and Dolls, otherwise known as I've Got The Horse Right Here, and Sir Clement's son, Matthew Freud, spoke of his father's final trip to the races only days before he died: "We are grateful for the honesty of the undertakers who returned the £2,000 found in his suit pocket."
Sir Clement died last week aged 84, and the famous faces who attended the funeral reflected a career which encompassed the worlds of politics, gastronomy, arts and show business.
Gordon Brown sat beside Bono, the singer with rock band U2. George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, mingled with Graham Norton and Claudia Winkleman, the television presenters, and Nicholas Parsons, Paul Merton and Stephen Fry, who appeared with Sir Clement on the Radio 4 panel show Just A Minute. A jazz quartet played in the spring sunshine on the pavement outside.
Four hundred mourners packed the church off Fleet Street to hear the Prime Minister hail Sir Clement as "not only a national treasure but a national institution". Their friendship stretched back to 1974, when both were rectors of Scottish universities. Mr Brown gave the first reading, the story of the wedding at Cana, noting with a smile that its subject - food and wine - was an apt choice.
Sir Clement's culinary flair received special mention. "If words were his craft, then eating was his purpose," said Mr Freud, who spoke of his father with great affection. "I think my dad would have wanted me to talk about his family. He celebrated our successes and he mitigated our failures with the love of a father and the pride of a patriarch... to me and my family he was the most important person in the whole world and for all that he was we will miss him."
The jokes came thick and fast. The order of service carried not a date of death, but a "Best Before" notice. An assortment of Sir Clement's 17 grandchildren regaled the mourners with anecdotes, including one taken from a letter to the Racing Post. The correspondent recalled dining with Sir Clement, who was tucking into the sausage rolls with gusto. "I thought you were trying to get in shape," said the friend. "I am," Sir Clement replied. "And the shape I have chosen is a triangle."
After the ceremony, Fry said: "That was far and away the most wonderful funeral service I have ever attended, if a funeral service can be wonderful. It was touching, elegant, funny and beautifully organised. It was really remarkable. I couldn't sing, partly because I was standing next to Bono, which would have rather put my voice to shame, but also because one was so choked by it all. The whole thing was wonderful and I was proud to be there."
The service ended with the theme tune to Just A Minute, the programme which Sir Clement made his own for more than 30 years. His coffin was carried out of the church as the Minute Waltz faded away.
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