In October 1963 I was an undergraduate at the new University of York, and there first encountered the wonderful, cascading laugh of fellow student Haleh Afshar. She was happy to dispute with lecturers, students – or just about anybody – while retaining an apparently effortless charm.
When interviewed by the local glossy, Yorkshire Life magazine, she said: “I intend to be the first ambassadress for Persia.” In the event she proved to be a true ambassador for Iran, fearless, feminist, and a democrat from a land of ayatollahs.
Nigel Fountain