by Sam Turton

About 27 years ago, Eric Dobbs, who lived in Bride, died in Hospice in the Isle of Man.

Now, his son Lord Michael Dobbs has returned to the island to walk the Raad ny Foillan to raise money for the Hospice as a way of saying thank you for the care his father received there.

During our discussion, Michael explained why this is so important to him.

He said that when his mother died, the sadness of her passing was made worse by the ’appalling circumstances’ of where she died.

Michael compared this to his father’s experience in the final weeks of his life.

He said: ’My father ended up in hospice and his last few weeks were a real joy. He was pain free, spiritually satisfied and he received absolutely wonderful care.

’Hospice cares for relatives too. It makes a huge difference to people. That’s why I’m doing the walk. The last time I saw my father, we sat in the hospice and watched golf with a beer and his experience was almost joyous.’

Michael said this memory is why it matters so much, as Hospice allows patients to be comfortable and their families to have the happiest possible memories of the end.

The focus on family is what convinced him to call his fundraiser, Walk4Eric to help current and future families who rely on Hospice.

His initial target was £5,000, which he said has already been surpassed.

A raffle raised over £640, the Freemasons donated £2,500, his Justgiving page has raised more than £1,200 and the Lawn Tennis Association has donated £2,000.

That was all before Saturday evening where he raised more money as the guest of honour at an event at Woodbourne House in Douglas.

Michael told me the best part of his walk was seeing part of the island he hadn’t seen for more than 20 years.

’There are more cars than I remember and more houses, but the island is still as beautiful.

’The weather has been brilliant, which helps, but the coast for example it just spectacular.

’I’d love to bring my family here. It is difficult to find anywhere so small, where each part of it is so unique yet shares so much culture.’

While in the island, he has also stayed at his father’s old house with the new occupants, which he said brought back many memories for him.

He also shared a rather humorous memory of the island that has stuck with him.

’I remember we were driving up over the hills and we were stuck behind this fuel truck.

’And on the back of it, it read "Use Christian’s for fuel".

’It’s always stuck with me because I remember thinking that’s a little extreme!’

I used this opportunity to ask him of his favourite locations he’d been to so far since he’s been back in the island.

He said seeing the Calf of Man again was good as the beauty of the small island is one that he always admired.

But besides that, he really enjoyed tucking into an ice cream at the Laxey Beach Stop Cafe.

While here, Michael has also met the Lieutenant Governor, Sir Richard Gozney, and his wife Lady Gozney.

He also spent an evening with Chief Minister Howard Quayle and his family.

Michael says, in his opinion, he’s never had a real job, he’d been an adviser, a television presenter, a writer and now a Lord.

But one of his earlier jobs allowed him to watch history unfold.

Between 1971 and 1975, he worked at the Boston Globe, during the Watergate scandal, which led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1972.

Michael explained how it was an exciting time to witness history being made.

’Every night there seemed to be something new.

’It was clearly one occasion where newspapers and the free press made a huge difference.’

When he returned to the UK, he began working for the Conservative Party in a number of roles.

This included as an adviser to Margaret Thatcher, both while in opposition and in government.

He later served as the Conservative Party’s chief of staff and then as deputy chairman under John Major.

It was during this time, he was given the nickname ’Westminster’s baby-faced hit man’by The Guardian.

Michael just says this is part of politics. It is a rough and tough career.

He said: ’If it was easy, then everyone could do it, but politicians are paid to be abused in public.’

He became a Conservative Lord in 2010.

He said the claims of the House of Lords not working hard were wrong, recounting times he had been in the House until gone 2.30am.

The conversation then moved onto his writing.

As a big fan of House of Cards, the books and both the UK and US series, this was a topic I couldn’t avoid.

Michael explained he decided to write after reading a book and complaining about it.

’My wife told me to stop being so bl**dy pompous and try it if I thought I could write better.

’So I sat down at the pool and started writing and it is still growing even today.

’They say everyone has a book in them, but only do it if you fancy a lot of hard work.

’And remember to be a successful writer, you have to be able to maintain the quality.

’It has allowed me to live this life of luxury where I’m sitting at the Cosy Nook in Port Erin eating scones!’

He then said, if he worked in today’s politics, he probably wouldn’t write House of Cards as it’s a very different beast from when he first started.

Of politics, he says it is always about compromise but knowing what you want to do.

He criticised today’s politicians for being too keen on relying on focus groups and a need to be personally liked.

During his fundraising night on Saturday, he entertained his audience with stories of his life and politics, explained what the island means to him and his family and drew the raffle.

He also congratulated the young man to whom he has handed over the metaphorical baton, 13-year-old Jake Hodgson, who will walk the Raad ny Foillan to raise money for Hospice in memory of his grandfather.

To donate to Michael’s Walk4Eric and support Hospice, visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/walk4eric

Once called ’Westminster’s baby-faced hit man’, the former adviser Michael Dobbs who served Thatcher and Major in between his writing sat down with Sam Turton this week to explain why he’s back on the island supporting Hospice.