You do not have to worry about the whips; I never do.'" This was an occasion when the gentle teasing of Sir Peter Tapsell, father of the house, for his magnificent longevity seemed a little misplaced (at 84, after all, he is almost five years Benn's junior).
The gentle giant of Rochdale, Sir Cyril Smith, has died aged 82 after a career in parliament which helped to rescue the Liberal party from the political fringe.
It all underscores a gentle humour perhaps missing in Sir Tom Jones' rutting prize bull version.
For those who revere the gentle, nuanced approach that made Sir David Attenborough and his blue shirts as a national treasure, Cosmos may seem unpalatably flashy.
As we talk in his office (leather sofas, executive bathroom, a PA who addresses him as "sir", presumably with gentle irony), he betrays irritation only once – when talking about Michael Portillo, whom he has heard is denouncing arts organisations as parasitical "grant junkies".
For the occasion, Helen Cha-Pyo, the associate director of music at the church, conducted the Riverside Festival Singers, a well-polished 28-voice choir that sang with both the robustness demanded by the Vaughan Williams works, including his contrapuntal and harmonically updated arrangement of "Greensleeves," and the suppleness required by Sir John's gentle hymns.
"Even if the approach is a gentle 'Can I help you please, sir?' people tend to freeze," he said.
A friend, Edouard Morot-Sir, wrote of "the gentle expression of his eyes, his smile, the finesse and warmth of his voice," and he remembered Maurois's endless fund of stories.
But the departments are actually run by career civil servants, the urbane Sir Humphreys, who in the gentlest possible way prevent over-excited politicians from doing too much damage.
Sir Mervyn also pointed to a "gentle [economic] recovery" and some grounds for optimism, such as improving credit conditions and lower mortgage rates, and the fact that companies were sitting on large piles of money.
