"How have you got time to stand there reading a book? It's nearly half-past seven and the boys aren't in the bath yet."

It was a very good question from She Who Must Be Obeyed, but for once I thought I had a foolproof response.

"Sir John Mortimer died today, and I'm just taking a couple of minutes to pay my respects by reading a Rumpole story."

Not surprisingly, the response cut little ice, and it was not long before I had to do the right thing and put Rumpole to one side.

But I was certainly saddened by the death of a writer who has brought me so much mirth over the years.

There were full obituaries in the Saturday papers which all came to the conclusion that Sir John, a lawyer turned writer with a provocative sense of humour, was a very entertaining and clever bloke, with an eye for the ladies.

I never met Sir John, who lived in his father's house at Turville Heath near Watlington, but I was lucky enough to enjoy An Audience with John Mortimer at Abingdon School a couple of years ago.

Rumpole's creator was in a wheelchair, but he proved his reputation as a great raconteur by telling amusing stories about his own past, and his encounters with the rich and famous.

When news emerged that Sir John had fathered a son with Wendy Craig, during an affair with the Butterflies actress, no-one seemed particularly surprised, or at all outraged.

Last year, I read Valerie Grove's authorised biography of Sir John, and thought it provided a pretty good overview of his long and incredibly productive life.

But it will be the Rumpole stories that I return to time and time again. They are not intellectually challenging, but they fully reflect Sir John's sense of fun and anti-establishment views.

Next time you've got a moment, grab one of the old Penguin paperbacks and enjoy watching Rumpole outline an ingenious case for the defence.

There will be rare occasions when one of Rumpole's defendants goes away for a long stretch, but they are few and far between.

For years, Sir John would get up at 5am to start writing, and it would not be long before he enjoyed his first glass of champagne.

I think it would be rude not to raise a glass to one of the country's finest entertainers, or read a few episodes of Rumpole at the very least.

Anyone seen The Guardian's 1,000 books you must read pull-outs? I think the supplements are very well produced and there are quite a few gems in there that I haven't read or even heard of.

Do you like reading books or lists, the pull-outs ask readers. Both, of course.