Laurie Graham

Great excitement in the Graham household, quite apart from the imminent arrival of grandchild No. 8. First came a message from the Middle Daughter. ‘Mum,’ she said, ‘you’re the answer in a word puzzle!’ And there it was. Not in the same league as getting an airport named after you, but still. And little did…

I’ve finally made a start on Dan 5 and a mixed experience it has turned out to be. On the wholly positive side, it’s like being back in the company of an old friend, or slipping on a comfortable pair of shoes. ‘What kept you?’ I hear Trevor Buxton ask. On the other side of…

The older I get the list of things I’ve already given up grows longer. Liquorice Allsorts, Bourbon biscuits, Schubert Lieder, Cognac, Father Ted. Can’t stand any of them. When my Orthodox husband was alive we’d give up meat, but nowadays, contrary to medical fashion, my body tells me I need it. Not an enormous rib-eye that…

Today, apart from changing the sheets and taking out the garbage, I have a job that gives me some satisfaction: playing God. Which, of Dr Dan’s previous cast of thousands, will survive to Book 5? Some people like designing gardens or rearranging furniture. My thing is playing the Grim Reaper, but with a red pen…

… on the way to the supermarket. I rediscovered my Get Up and Go. Or, more accurately, my Get Up and Write. Walking has often served me as a pipe-opener, literally and figuratively, and I go out for a walk most days, exploring my new neighbourhood, piecing together the jigsaw of London. But it was…

I always suspected it was a question of ‘when’ not ‘if’.  And yes, in spite of two armfuls of Pfizer plus a booster, it got me in the end. Here I lurk, in strict quarantine, but supported and serviced by fellow residents. They make sure I don’t starve, though they know as well as I…