“I met Frank Sinatra through Robert Maxwell. That's if you can be said to have met someone who was on a private jet with you for fourteen hours and never spoke to you.” So begins Chance Encounters, a charming insight into the extraordinary people, places and politics experienced in one varied and fascinating life. Over the last fifty years, Tim Razzall has forged successful careers in law, business and politics, rising to become both a CBE and a life peer. From his time representing the biggest names in rock music to his sortie among the big hitters of the City takeover mania in the fifties, Razzall has rubbed shoulders with the Beatles, Bill Clinton and Bertrand Russell, among many, many others. Throughout all this, he has had a key role in the rise of the Liberal Democrats from fringe party to partner in government. As an adviser to Paddy Ashdown, Razzall was a major player in the Lib Dems' covert relationship with Tony Blair. As party treasurer for twelve years, he had a front-row view of the pleasures and perils of political fundraising. Having been an adviser to Charles Kennedy — and best man at his wedding — Razzall divulges frank details of the problems that led to the former leader's resignation, as well as speaking candidly and astutely about the personalities in the House of Lords. No traditional, dry autobiography, Chance Encounters is a brisk, high-spirited romp through the worlds of business, entertainment and politics, dispensing insight and humour in equal measure.
