Update 36
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The week began with Monday’s appointment to meet Oncologist Sam Guglani who pretty much had me describe my entire life story to him, after which he asked me which is more important to me - longevity or quality of life? I settled on quality without much difficulty and Sam explained that although interventions (surgery, chemo or radiotherapy) are still possible, none are without risk to the quality of life afterwards. We talked about my life style and I opted for more of what I’m currently appreciating. He felt strongly that I was making the right decision and he was hugely supportive. He said he now wanted to place me directly in his care alongside his team. I can contact them if needed and he himself will meet me at the hospital every few weeks just to see for himself how I’m progressing. He was very warm in his approach and I feel that another supportive contact has been made. Coincidentally, I had been honoured to introduce Sam when he gave a talk at Chapel Arts last year - little did I know that for our second meeting it would be as one of his patients.
Parliament is in recession this week so no PMQs to highlight the midweek - mind you, they have become much duller since the arrival of Rishi Sunak. There’s more political entertainment to come from the appointment of Richard Sharp as Chairman of the BBC and financial fixer for Boris Johnson (only not in that order). The Good Law Project continues its relentless pursuit of those who contracted to supply PPE equipment to the government and either failed to meet the right standards, failed to use legitimate channels or failed to deliver at all. Do try and support them, what they’re revealing really is beyond belief. Thank goodness there are still a few of our fellow citizens who actually care what sort of society we should aspire to be - even after Johnson carried us towards the very depths of malevolent governance.
The resignation of Nicola Sturgeon is not a big surprise, it seemed to me that she had nowhere left to turn in the struggle for Scottish independence. She’s been a consummate politician and a steady presence through the eight years but the party seem already to have abandoned her notion of regarding the upcoming general election as a referendum on independence. Her term as First Minister has also been overshadowed by poor performance from both the Scottish health and education sectors. No wonder she’s sounding as if “enough is enough”.
Getting Brexit done, was Johnson’s big claim for his premiership, though I’ve never accepted that it has been “done” in any sense of the word. Turning the debate on its head, I’ve been directed to a book “Inside the Deal - How the EU Got Brexit Done”. Now that’s a different way of looking at things and one about which I’m looking forward to learning.
M has the Somerbosch Pinotage and I’m holding their Sauvignon Blanc.
Somewhat late in life I’ve discovered that I have relatives who are commercial wine growers in South Africa’s Stellenbosch. They make a wide range of varietals of which we’ve so far bought their Pinotage and Sauvignon Blanc. Our next exploration will be of their Pinot Noir and Chenin Blanc output. My father’s younger sister Amy, gave birth to three girls, one of whom married a South African farmer studying at the Agricultural college in Cirencester and went home with him when he finished his course. Their son-in-law Japie Roux is the winemaker and working with his brother Marius, their brand is Somerbosch: www.Somerbosch.co.za.
I spent most of 2021 writing a book about 200 songs that peaked in popularity between 1956 and 1976. Each is accompanied either by one of my own photographs or an original illustration by our grandson Danny. Here’s his impression of Charlie Chaplin’s screen persona to accompany his own composition: ‘This is my Song’.
What the songs all have in common, is that you could probably sing along to them. Choices were determined partly by that constraint. For example, I love ‘River Deep Mountain High’ but I’d never attempt to sing it, whereas, like most folk, I cannot resist joining in with ‘You Don’t Have to Say you Love Me’.
‘Remember Then’ is my fourth book, following on from: ‘A Little Bit Famous’ - a memoir of my life and career, ‘A Man of Many Gifts’ - an appreciation of my Dad and his Methodist ministry, and ‘George Rowe’s Cheltenham Revisited’ - a photographic celebration of Cheltenham’s architecture as originally selected and drawn by George Rowe in 1845. Because of the seriously high costs involved, I’ve only had a few copies printed.
The first three Blackmore books
Finally I want to pay tribute to someone I’ve known since 1963. Andrew Warry served as my best man and I returned the favour when he and his wife Jo married. They live in the Channel Islands but have been over to see us three times since my diagnosis and they’ll be catching a flight again towards the end of this week. Back in the 1960s I twisted Andrew’s arm to perform on behalf of a charity with which I was involved - even worse, I virtually forced him to write some tunes to accompany my appalling lyrics - at this very moment I am still blushing at the thought of what I asked the poor man to do, and still he comes to visit - truly an earthly saint.
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