Veteran left-winger Tony Benn may no longer be an MP but, at the distinguished age of 77, he shows no sign of curbing his tremendous zest.

He is currently involved in two different tours. One, An Audience With ..., is a solo performance or "public meeting" as he prefers to call it, in which he speaks for about 45 minutes, returning after an interval to respond to questions from the audience.

His opening gambit was to suggest that he left Parliament to concentrate on politics, which brought the first of many spontaneous rounds of applause and laughter from the crowd.

Benn then regaled with opinions on the theme of power and who wields it in today's world.

Along the way, he touched on the media, corporate skulduggery, US imperialism, the monarchy, the Middle East, nuclear weapons and old foe Margaret Thatcher.

Clearly, Benn remains as true to his socialist principles as ever.

It is this conviction combined with a refusal to engage in personal attacks, a sparkling wit, a wry sense of humour and a wealth of anecdotes from his 50-odd years in politics that make him such a pleasure to "meet".

Billed as The Writing On The Wall: An Anthology Of Dissent In Words And Music, the second tour sees Benn take to the stage with folk musician Roy Bailey.

This was an alternative history lesson in which Benn read quotes, declarations and sections of speeches made by famous and not-so-famous political radicals from the 14th-Century to the present - and then discussed them.

Subjects included the Diggers, the English Revolution, Thomas Paine, the Suffragettes, Keir Hardie and Greenham Common.

Bailey, who shares Benn's values, interspersed the readings with appropriate songs, accompanied by himself on guitar and performed in classic protest-song style.

These breaks allowed Benn to relax in an armchair with his customary pipe and flask of tea.

Bailey's songs were, by turn, humorous, moving and stirring. It did not take much encouragement before the audience joined in for the choruses with full voice.

A standing ovation was awarded these two masters of political persuasion.