Gordon Brown - The Sunday Times Magazine

“They didn’t give me a chance” was one of the first things the ex-Prime Minister said to me. A man who seemed to be looking back as much as forward. It was fascinating to meet a figure who had been so present in politics whilst I was growing up. He was more excited to hear about me than to talk about himself, and even more eager to show us his home village. “Have you seen the bridges?” he said, referring to the massive structures spanning the Firth of Forth that tower over the place. He then took us off to a little seaside restaurant 15 minutes away, where he happily chatted away to the owner and was determined to eat before letting me photograph him on the beach. It was only at the end of our time together that he started to talk about his current charity work, and a new lease of life came into him. Massive thanks to Russ O’Connell for the fascinating commission, to Dan Biddulph for the brilliant cover design, to George Rabe for his top assisting, and to Sands a Place By The Sea for hosting us.