Jeffrey Archer has revealed that his 80th birthday was a small celebration because most of his friends are now dead.
The best-selling author and life peer said it would have ‘felt strange’ throwing a big party without friends he’s lost in the past decade.
Asked how he celebrated his birthday, he told Saga magazine: ‘Very quietly. For my 70th, my son William said, “Throw a big party, invite everyone you know because a lot of them won’t be here when you’re 80”.
Former politician and author Jeffrey Archer at home in his penthouse suite on the Albert Embankment, London. Jeffrey Archer photo shoot, London, UK on 10 September, 2018
‘He was right. I’ve lost maybe 50 or 60 close friends in the past ten years. A party without them would have felt strange, lockdown or not.’
The former Tory MP and Conservative Party chairman also said that he would not go into politics today because of social media.
He said: ‘If Twitter had existed during the war, Churchill wouldn’t have lasted.
‘Every time he lost a battle, the tweets would have started: “Churchill’s useless. Sack him”. I feel sorry for modern politicians.’
Lord Archer, whose novels have sold around 300million copies worldwide, turned to writing when he was on the brink of bankruptcy in the 1970s.
The former Tory MP and Conservative Party chairman (pictured with Margaret Thatcher in 1986) also said that he would not go into politics today because of social media
