Love and Kisses

The madness that was theatre critic Sheridan Morley.  In a moving memoir of her husband his wife Ruth Leon is incredibly honest about the parlous state of affairs that Sheriden was in.  I knew Ruth in the days when she was LBC's Theatre Critic.  We both (Mr Lowrie and I) called Ruth 'Love and Kisses' an affectionate nickname for an affectionate lady who loved to hug and kiss you on arrival and departure.

We last saw Ruth at a theatre first night.  She was accompanied by a sleeping Sheridan, this despite the fact he was still the Theatre critic of The Express.  It was an open secret that Ruth was the engine that wrote his reviews.  Another secret I share with you was that Ruth had an audio line to their home. (This was before ISDN)  She would sometimes forget to switch the microphone off after interviews and we would often hear rows of such ferocity that I swear there were times that we feared for her safety. 

Roger Lewis writing in the Mail describes as her as a saint, well she certainly had the patience of one to put up with the incredible Sheriden the man she loved and lost.              But What Comes After by Ruth Leon is published by Constable Buy it on Amazon