The Top 10: Unlikely shared interests of politicians

When the small talk dries up, world leaders find some unexpected common ground

Martial plan: William Hague and Vladimir Putin watched judo together at the 2012 Olympics (AFP/Getty)

Andrew Denny drew my attention to an interview with Jonathan Aitken, the Tory former cabinet minister, who was writing a biography of Richard Nixon and arranged dinner at the Dorchester for him and Harold Wilson, with Marcia Falkender, after they were both out of power. For what happened next, see no 2.

1. English cricket. Peter Hain and Martin McGuinness. The Northern Ireland secretary found common ground with Sinn Fein’s chief negotiator, who was “able to recite match statistics and comment expertly on each of [England’s] batsmen or bowlers. England’s victory over Australia in the Ashes series in 2005 especially enthralled him, and we marvelled at Welsh fast bowler Simon Jones’s then novel ‘reverse swing’ technique”. Hain’s memoir, Outside In, quoted by Niall.

2. HMS Pinafore. Harold Wilson and Richard Nixon discovered a common love of Gilbert and Sullivan, and sang several verses of “When I Was a Lad”, “word perfect”, according to Aitken, with “quite good voices”, ending with the rousing line, “Now he is the ruler of the Queen’s navee!”

3. Jazz. Ken Clarke and John Prescott. Specifically at Ronnie Scott’s. Nominated by Star Man.

4. Chess. Henry Kissinger and Andrei Gromyko, USSR foreign minister, “bonded” over the game, according to Pete Bowyer.

5. Dogs. Valery Giscard D’Estaing and Queen Elizabeth II. According to Marc Roche of Le Monde, the Queen gave the French president a black labrador called Samba (really?), “to whom VGE, an incorrigible snob, always spoke in English”.

6. Colgate toothpaste. George W Bush and Tony Blair. Asked whether he and his British guest at Camp David had discovered anything they had in common, the US president told a news conference: “We both use Colgate toothpaste.”

7. The Georgia Tech fight song. Nikita Khrushchev and Richard Nixon sang it together at their meeting in Moscow in 1959. Second appearance in this list – and singing, again – by Tricky Dicky. “Apparently it was the only English song Khrushchev knew,” said Simon Cook. The “Ramblin’ Wreck From Georgia Tech” is the school’s official fight song, and was adapted from an old English drinking song called “The Son of a Gambolier”.

8. Speedway racing. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Sefton Delmer, the Daily Express correspondent in Berlin, overheard the pair discussing the prospects for a forthcoming match between Germany and Italy in 1934. Allan Holloway.

9. Judo. William Hague and Vladimir Putin. Nominated by Xlibris1. Hague as foreign secretary attended a judo match at the London Olympics with Putin and David Cameron.

10. Racing. Alex Salmond took over from Robin Cook as the tipster columnist for the Glasgow Herald. Thanks to Simon Alvey.

Next week: Artists whose instruction to destroy their works after their death was ignored, such as Virgil’s Aeneid, which was saved by the emperor Augustus.

Coming soon: Rulers who, as children, met their predecessors – inspired by that photo of Bill Clinton, aged 16, shaking hands with President John F Kennedy.

Your suggestions please, and ideas for future Top 10s, to me on Twitter, or by email to top10@independent.co.uk