7 October 2010

Had a wonderful day today.’ My lovely’ generously engaged the services of Barry, our driver, to take us all the way up to Church Stretton, Shropshire, to see my (almost) 94-year-old mother and her husband Richard. Obviously I cannot get up there as often as I would like so it was a great joy to see them both looking so well. Richard is an amazing guy who looks after my mother who, to put it kindly, is getting a little forgetful. In every other respect however she seems to be amazingly fit. I know that Richard makes a go for a little walk every day which is probably got something to do with it. They manage entirely on their own which is pretty amazing because Richard himself is 92. I was the only really old crock there.

I took up my usual bottle of champagne and we had a very pleasant lunch provided by ‘my lovely’. Barry was marvellous the way he transferred me from car to wheelchair and so on.

He has the advantage of having many years of experience dealing with his dear disabled daughter so we are very lucky to have him in that respect. There and back the same day, without a hitch and we arrived home in the early evening.