Hello, I'm Krestey Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1990, and the presenter was Sue Lawley. My castaway this week is a diplomat. The foreign office spotted his talents early on and picked him out as one of their high

flyers. They employed his skills as an astute tactician during Britain's entry into the common

market and much more recently in the restoration of diplomatic relations with

Argentina. They relied too on his calming influence to help engineer a

ceasefire between Iran and Iraq. A historian who loves science, he amazed his colleagues 15 years ago by taking up the study

of the climate.

As a result, the cool diplomat is now an expert on global warming.

He is Britain's ambassador to the United Nations

Sir Crispin Charles Savantes-Ticel.

It's a wonderful set of Christian names, Sir Crispin, the three Cs.

Which of them is most used?

Well I think the only one that is used is Crispin. Charles was a little memory that my mother wished to make

I think of a very eminent translator of Proust,

Child Scotland Creve.

And Cervantes is a nice little family myth

that somehow I'm connected with the Cervantes family of Don Quixet.

What does your mother call you?

Crispinn.

No doubt Cervantes there was a useful name to have when you were serving, as you have done several

times in Mexico.

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