I thought I was hearing things when the guy said he was going to a fancy dress party dressed as Superman and he needed my help. I said I didn’t think saving the world was part of a speechwriter’s remit.. He explained that his hostess wanted all the guests to wear fancy costume and to give a short speech about Cleopatra or Napoleon or whoever he or she had chosen to be. I explained that I though someone like Napoleon would have a better story to tell but he insisted he wanted to be Superman. Furthermore he added “I think it would be better if I said a poem because nobody else will do that.� I had to rack my brains on this one but by comparing Superman’s dual personality with that of a guest dressed as Superman I was able to make a start on the poem. Instead of saving the planet his job this time was to save the guests from boredom. I made it an action poem. He was to stand on a table and there he could dispense with his glasses, point to his elegant tights and whirl his cloak. He ended by jumping from the chair and vanishing from sight to deal with yet another crisis,the gatecrashers who threatened to ruin the party. He scored ten out of ten for trying.

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