In 1983 I drank wine with Richard Nixon. A full-bodied, heavy red that perfectly matched the cheese it accompanied. I never found out what the cheese was, but it was delicious. Nixon smelt slightly of hair product, which wasn’t unpleasant, but I kept my nose in the wine glass as much as I could.

He spoke of China and of “that prick” Frost, but what surprised me was that he was very interested in me, and kept asking questions about my life and wellbeing. The questions were genuine and somewhat intense – I left feeling the shallowness and smallness of my life and thought.

When we talked about life’s ultimate meaning he was well versed in both philosophy and religion, but didn’t get personal at all, and in the whole conversation I don’t know that he spoke from the heart. All those years in the public eye had taught him to be cautious.

The most astonishing thing that happened in the whole hour-long conversation, and this is why I write, was a string of predictions Nixon made about all sorts of things. We had been talking about technological advances and professional wrestling, and he suddenly started making short predictions about life in the next 50 years. He didn’t explain them or justify them, he just listed them off, one after the other, almost as if he was in a trance. This is where I started to question his sanity, and I found myself taking cheese at more regular intervals.

Most of these prophesies have proved to be wrong, in content and in timing, but a few have been borne out, and others may yet come true. I’ll mention a few of the more interesting predictions here:

1. The Democratic Party would change its name to The Party of Democratic Capitalism.
2. Chile would become the preeminent world power on the back of scientific advances in harnessing earthquakes for energy production.
3. The Muppets would become so popular that they would take over TV. That is, all newsreaders, sports and political commentators, and interviewers etc would be Muppets.
4. He, Richard Nixon, would write a series of best-selling crime novels, based around a character called RubisTreemonkey, which would also be critically acclaimed.
5. A woman would be elected President of the United States but would be assassinated within 30 days of taking office. After her death it would be revealed that she was actually a man posing as a woman.
6. Terrorist groups would become the new enemy, and would engage in full-scale war.
7. Within 50 years, some types of trees would naturally evolve into lamp-posts, but, upon reaching full-growth, would need humans to insert a lightbulb and hook them up to the electricity grid.
8. A new team, the Sacramento Chumps, would win the Superbowl in their first year of competition, largely due to a teenage prodigy and a compulsory team diet that consists solely of olive oil, corned beef, and beer.