...in the lovely garden of a residence for the elderly, where a beloved resident lives and where I spend a good deal of time. It was a very happy afternoon: protected from the heat by a large airy marquee, we enjoyed Bucks Fizz, and lots of friendly chat, joined by, among others, Bishop Howard Tripp, who I first met when I was a reporter on a newspaper in Richmond and he was parish priest of the big church at Sheen...
We had smokes salmon sandwiches and scones topped with whipped cream and strawberries, and delicious cakes...and during the afternoon a delegation arrived from the Royal Marines ex-servicemens group, to present a special beret to one of the elderly residents, who had served with distinction in WWII. We all gave him three hearty cheers and he wore his beret with pride, and I got talking to the chaps. Some had served in the "forgotten wars" of Malaysia and Aden, and there is sorrow that those of their conmrades who died there are not honoured and remembered each November...that's something that we should surely quietly rectify...
Afterwards, I went on to visit some young friends, whose son is one of my godchildren and is now a tall teenager and extremely nice - he has been helping with creating a new database for a leading Catholic group and everything is now superbly up-to-date....while the garden sizzled in the heat, the children turned a hose and frolicked in the delicious sprinkling water, while the parents and I, joined by a neighbour, sipped cold white wine and talked and laughed and reminisced and discussed local topics...and then as the evening cool descended, I wandered home, and, refreshed, tackled some emails and preparatory work for the week ahead...
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