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Diary: Wacl gets visit from 'Mr Prime Minister'

After much speculation among Wacl members as to the identity of the "senior cabinet member" lined up to speak at last week's lunch, to their delight, it turned out to be none other than the big man himself, Gordon Brown.

The Wacl-ites were out in their droves last Thursday to witness the Prime Minister giving a well-rounded speech covering everything from the predictable topic of the global economy, to his less predictable passion for reality TV. Apparently he's an X-Factor fan. Next thing you know he'll be listening to Arctic Monkeys.

Among the familiar faces was an overexcited David Muir, the ex-WPP man turned director of political strategy, the celebrity face of the Barclaycard ads, Green Wing's Julian Rhind-Tutt, and the Wacl chairman, Nicola Mendelssohn.

Not only was Mendelssohn in her networking element (as her Cheshire Cat grin reveals), the Karmarama chairman also used the opportunity to crowbar the agency's executive creative director, Dave Buonaguidi, into a suit for the first time in his life.

While saying a gracious thank you to the PM, MT Rainey showed off her showbiz Labourite connections, by taking the accolade of being the only guest to address Brown by his first name. Mendelssohn, on the other hand, went for the formal approach, referring to him as "Mr Prime Minister".

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