Last Sunday was Father’s Day and Tim arrived, bringing a card, a No 1 Dad mug, and his lovely self for lunch. He came to Church as well, which was especially nice. My Mother enjoyed seeing him as well, and I knew David was delighted.   The days are so long just now, that he set out around his usual going to work time and was here by 9.30am.  On Tuesday, which was Midsummer’s Day, Tim and three friends were up at 4am to start a golf marathon in order to raise funds for the Macmillan Nurses, who cared for his father- in- law in his terminal illness last November.  Four rounds of gold which is 72 holes in one day.   They finished about 10pm, having walked a minimum of twenty miles . Tim said that the others had friends to caddie for them or had electric trolleys, but he pulled his clubs himself all the way round.  He had terrible blisters on his feet by the end, as he must have walked a lot further than twenty miles, in golf shoes,  chasing golf balls off in the rough !  I’m very proud of him, as he says he’s far from a crack golfer. He’s raised nearly £1000 for the good cause.

Funnily enough the Macmillan head office is in the same building as Comic Relief, and Marie Curie Cancer care in London, by Vauxhall Bridge. We had a fire alarm on Thursday and the whole building’s population poured out,, a sea of young people all in leggings and mini skirts and little cardies, (and that was just the men!). It made me realise that the NGO sector must employ so many young graduates in London. Those of us over 40 were less than 10%, and as for those of us over 50!  I don’t know where all the longevity is- it certainly isn”t in the London working population!

My musical opportunism this week led me to the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank to a performance of Verdi’s Requiem, following Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto and Parry’s “I was Glad”. The choral society celebrating its 30th anniversary had learned it all by heart which helped their concentration. The pianist, Tom ?  (I begrudged paying £4 fior a programme and hence remained in ignorance about most of the names|) was a delightful febrile young chap, and the soloists for the Verdi included Sir Willard White whose bass voice does have a most spine tingling quality.   I walked home along the Thames. These trips to London do increase my exercise ratio, not quite twenty miles, but at least two!