Met a woman on the tube today on the way back from the scan; she was american and had got on the wrong train. julian and I pointed her in the right direction (‘the hilton olympia’), and i asked where she was from; she was studying philosophy in Rome, her favourite philosopher was St Thomas Aquinas; she was planning to study theology, her favourite theologians were St Augustian and Pope John Paul II (at which my heart sank, wow this she was serious). So what does your dad do? Oh, he’s a tax lawyer for Microsoft (she’s from Seattle).

Was told Barry Mason of the Psychedelic Shamanistic Institute died a few weeks ago – after a call from Peter Messenger in Oxford. Also members of the institute are Michael Carmichael, a former colleague of Bobby Kennedy (which coincidentally a new film of his life is soon to appear in the UK). Another former member is The Who band member, John Entwistle, who coincidentally I looked up for the first time a couple of months ago when my new boss at Havering Council had the same name.