23 May 2026

 At a lunch party for the milestone birthday of a Cambridge friend today, her extended family and close friends of a lifetime gathered in her tiny garden. There were warm and meaningful speeches by her sons, evidence of a life of connection, meaning and travel.

I felt grateful to have been included, as a new friend of barely a couple of years. Gratitude also for the fact that I already knew several people there despite being a relative newcomer, and that I had the opportunity to meet some new ones.

Earlier I'd had my morning coffee outside in the courtyard - for the first time this year - joined by a pigeon pal.

Later there was the pleasure of a video call with the boy angel - captured here in a screenshot as we talked, touching his mother's face