In between recollections of his many encounters with Le Corbusier and the political struggles involved in realising Brasilia, much time is devoted to the driving force behind his work: the women, parties and practical jokes that were all part of his enthusiasm for life.

Kishida, the LDP’s policy chief, is said to be Abe’s chosen successor, but has not polled well among voters. The finance minister and deputy prime minister, Taro Aso, has reportedly ruled himself out, while the foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, and defence minister, Taro Kono, have yet to decide whether to run.

The pond is one of the string of Hampstead Ponds forming the source of the River Fleet, which now finishes up in a culvert running into the Thames. The atmosphere of the pond and its clientele are unlike other swimming places. The local regulars are jealous of their preserves and apt to mutter on those days when a spell of good weather brings newcomers from farther afield.

It is this mischievous sense of fun and delight that will live on in the buildings of Oscar Niemeyer. He brought a much-needed injection of passion and emotion to the monotonous world of modernism, an outlook that lifted the spirits and continues to have a lasting legacy.

* Bridget Christie’s A Book for Her is published by Arrow.

The Jeeves series by PG Wodehouse

Chosen by Sebastian Faulks

The only book that’s ever literally made me fall out of bed laughing is Towards the End of the Morning by Michael Frayn. I read it when I was about 26 and working on an old Fleet Street newspaper very like the one described in the novel. The passage that inflicted lifelong lumbar spine damage was old Eddie Moulton’s swansong, in which he remembers the great journalists of the past. One day, I really must get round to suing the author for all my osteopath bills.

Before that, The Rachel Papers by Martin Amis made me snort, shudder and descargar loba negra chortle with embarrassed glee. It took the narcissistic young man’s comic novel to such new heights that it essentially killed off the genre – for which, many thanks. Also for “I … waved, with sinister, beckoning motions” and all that.

Terry Wogan read the Gussie Fink-Nottle prize-giving speech at Cheltenham – you could hear the laughter in Birmingham

Sebastian FauksAnd earliest of all were PG Wodehouse’s Jeeves stories. I have never been able to tune in to Lord Emsworth, but the Jeeves-Wooster relationship has a tensely comic energy. A few years ago, I heard Terry Wogan read the famous Gussie Fink-Nottle prize-giving speech to a large audience at the Cheltenham festival. They say you could hear the laughter in Birmingham.

* Marina Lewycka’s The Lubetkin Legacy is published by Fig Tree.

It should be enjoyed in private where you can laugh, scream and dribble at your pleasure, without fear of being arrested

Shazia MirzaMe Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Chosen by Shazia Mirza

This is not a book to be read in public. It should be enjoyed in private, where you can laugh, scream and dribble at your pleasure, without fear of being arrested. Me Talk Pretty One Day is in two parts, one about Sedaris’s childhood and family, and the second is about his experience in France as a foreigner.

It is funny and touching, and his accounts of trying to learn French will leave you spitting up the windows. His characters and situations are vivid and beautiful, and will remain with you long after you’ve finished the book and been given filthy looks by your fellow commuters. This is a book so funny it will make you feel alive.

The swimmers share the water with assorted ducks, quite a lot of fish – there are said to be one or two vast knowing ones secure from the weekend fishermen at the bottom – and the occasional rat. It isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but that’s what the group of contorting habitués like about it.

Senior LDP figures said it would take too long to organise a broader vote, given Abe’s unexpected resignation and ongoing battle with ulcerative colitis, a bowel condition that has twice brought a premature end to his premiership.

Ishiba defeated Abe in the first round of an LDP presidential election in 2012 thanks to strong grassroots support, but lost in the second round when only MPs could vote. He lost heavily to Abe in a 2018 party leadership contest.

There are three swimming ponds on Hampstead Heath. With true British compromise they consist of a men’s pond (free), a women’s pond (free), and a mixed pond (nine pence per person). The mixed pond is by far the most interesting. A sign at the entrance warns: “Only strong swimmers allowed.” The pond is about twelve feet deep in most places, and not for beginners. It arouses strong reactions.

As a member of a small group of decision-makers around Abe, Suga is being touted as the continuity candidate in a contest that so far includes the former defence minister – and Abe critic – Shigeru Ishiba, and Fumio Kishida, a former foreign minister.

Doubts about how much plutonium and uranium is contained in a vast waste tank at Sellafield in Cumbria has led the European commission to prosecute the British government for failing to adhere to proper nuclear safeguards.The building, known as B30, is one of the most intractable nuclear waste problems in Europe.