History at Lords?

Now we really have got them over a barrel. It's only day three of five, and it looks as if we've got the Wallabies licked this time. What is it - 521 runs ahead with 4 wickets standing, and still two days' play left. Presumably Strauss will declare early tomorrow, perhaps letting Flintoff have a bit more of a bash. And then it's up and at 'em. They don't stand a chance, do they...? The only Ozzie fly in the ointment might be that Tasmanian with a name out of 'Postman Pat', Mathew Goggin, one off the lead in the Open Golf at Turnberry, equal with Englishman, Ross Fisher. The amazing Tom Watson, who's the same age as me, is in the lead. Now if he were to win the Claret Jug tomorrow, he'd make history in a number of ways, not least by being the oldest winner. Maybe we ought to hope that he will by way of giving the US a consolation for Andy Roddick. But if Mr Goggin won, that would spoil a great day, wouldn't it? But they're only games, after all.

While all this excitement was going on in different ends of the country, we had a rather interesting visitor. Well, Jess thought she was. However that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Historical lunacy and a literary gem

I was at a barbecue last week, and for some reason we fell to talking about the Apollo 11 moon landing - which was, as we're constantly being reminded, was 40 years ago. Len - well, let's call him Len - said, 'It didn't really happen, you know.' Of course it did, everyone said, we saw it on TV, or those who were too young had seen the recordings. 'Think about it,' said Len. 'Kennedy had told NASA that America had to have a man on the moon by the end of the decade.' We thought about it. It's true - the home of Hollywood - no problem in faking it. 'And what about: "One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind", don't tell me that's not a script!' 'And the near disastrous Apollo 13! Sounds too like a Hollywood story-line.' A giant conspiracy? How can we tell? Well, I guess most of us reckon it's taking historical scepticism too far. There are too many witnesses still alive with their different angles on their involvement.

And yet, it occurs to me, that some people have similar scepticism about the death and resurrection of Jesus, which I admit we don't have on film (except in reconstructions) but we do have in the equivalent of their day including direct or indirect evidence from a whole variety of witnesses. Well, it seems to me that people who dismiss that evidence are of the same ilk as Apollo mission conspiracy theorists - historical lunatics.

Meanwhile, we've had my cousin staying here a night. She is very nice. She writes books too. She's working on the final drafts of her next one, which is due out at the beginning of next year. Look out for it, 'Living with Dying' by Grace Sheppard (DLT). You heard about it here first.

Sad coda

On Friday Sir Edward and Lady Joan Downes took their own lives in the Dignitas apartment in Zurich - a sad coda to a distinguished musical career and marriage of 54 years. Their son and daughter were with them at the time. Lady Joan had advanced cancer, and Sir Edward was going blind and deaf, and according to the radio couldn't conceive of living without her. I'm not going to break my habit of refraining from judging, but it's worth noting a few things in the light of the event.

The reporting of their deaths was striking: not long ago it would have been described as a 'suicide pact', because that's what it was. Downes' manager Jonathan Groves said the couple were inseparable and would have reached the decision together, I read. I notice how the media are allowing language to be rewritten, like calling Dignitas a 'clinic' which my dictionary defines as 'a place in which patients are given medical treatment or advice'.... Another feature of the articles is the detail of the reporting of the death bed scene - which is odd, since physician-assisted suicide is being rebranded as assisted dying; and normal deaths are not described because they are intensely private. Is it a normal death, or extraordinary? Is it plain dying, or physician assisted suicide?

And of course the mere fact of the deaths and their reporting is a reminder that, although the Falconer amendment was defeated in the Lords last week, that was by no means the end of the matter. It's not the end of the campaign by Dignitas in Switzerland and Dignity in Dying in the UK to get our laws on suicide changed. It should give us a jolt to work on improving, if possible, our laws surrounding the end of life.

A tangental thought: it's a pity that a myth such as that disability or suffering spells a diminution of viable or valuable life has such prevalence. In fact, it can be the source of prodigious beauty. Beethoven wrote most of his great symphonies, late quartets, Missa Solemnis etc in spite of his increasing deafness. At the performance of his 9th symphony he had to be turned round to see the tumultuous applause of the audience, as he could hear neither that nor his music. He wept. But he never gave up, though he must have been agonisingly tempted. What the world would have missed if Beethoven had believed the modern myth! It's a lie.

Thoughts for the day

Lesley, my physio, came yesterday morning and was quite pleased with how I'm doing. She reckons my speech is no worse and my walking all right. Mark you, I WAS trying to impress her! There's been a delay in trying muscle relaxing drugs, to stop my knees knocking, as there's a warning in the instructions if you have epilepsy. So we're consulting them that know. Anyway she says it's not urgent. Before she left, she asked if we'd thought about what we'd do if either of us, particularly Jane, went down with swine 'flu. I'm ashamed to say that it hadn't occurred to me as a problem. I suppose I think of Jane as indestructible. But it was a good point. I gather I'd be a priority for vaccine when it comes on stream, and one would hope that Jane would be too as I'd be up a gum-tree without her. I'm amazed at how soon a vaccine has been developed, probably being authorised for September. But the point, of course, is that in a pandemic social services would be so stretched that normal emergency cover would be virtually non-existent. We were sent via a friend something from the county council about ''flu friends', which recommends having a number of people you can contact if you're diagnosed (by phone) as having it. They recommend having a number. What a good idea, I thought! And then I thought, That's what the Church is for, isn't it?

I read in 'The Telegraph' today (not my usual paper, I hasten to add) that the BBC in the person of Mr Mark Damazer, controller of Radio 4 - I wonder if that title is meant to be reassuring, shades of Thomas the Tank engine's Fat Controller - is considering axing or altering or 'opening up' Thought for the Day on the Today Programme. Apparently it's too 'religious', and out of place in a flagship current affairs programme. Actually although I'm not a great fan, it would seem to me to diminish the programme to take away the three minutes of reflection from the headlong rush of news and comment. As the Supertramp poet said, 'What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare...?' Mr Terry Sanderson, militant president of the National Secular Society, is quoted as saying, 'The majority of people are not even religious and they want to hear a point of view that reflects their own.' Hello! Have you read the 2001 Census recently? '14.6 per cent in England and 18.5 per cent in Wales (state they have no religion).' That's a new definition of majority.

I don't want to sound censorious, but last week it was the press's turn, wasn't it? Bit like the pot calling the kettle black, it felt. Having spent weeks telling us how corrupt MPs are, we now discovered that phone-tapping is the stock in trade of the News of the World and, it is alleged, of the press in general. Maybe not directly, but via private eyes.

PS Guess what colour the singers on Songs of Praise were wearing this Sunday!

Rampant Ozzies

I held my breath at 6.40 this evening. It was surprisingly exciting listening, considering England was fighting to avoid an ignominious defeat in the cricket. At one stage we were 70 for 5... and there was Geoffrey Borecott saying how useless Hauritz was: 'even my dear mother could have done better' (than Pietersen). Well, he took 6 wickets, Geoffrey, - which says something about the English batting. Anyway, respect to Jimmy Anderson and Monty Panesar who held the Ozzies at bay until close of play. So it wasn't a complete wipe out. Just a draw. Though I suspect the Australians would claim a moral victory. Earllier of course Mark Webber knocked Jenson Button well and truly off the podium in the German Grand Prix - and, in case you don't know, although he lives in England he's an Ozzie, cobber.

The Big Day out

Waddesdon Manor on first sight

Yesterday we spent a very good day with John and Jan. We met up in the gardens of Waddesdon Manor. Jan and John live just down the road from the monument to the Rothschild banking fortune, and so have often been there; in fact before John got MND it was their favourite walk. But we'd never visited it. It's now owned by the National Trust, which does well for disabled visitors: admitting the carer free, and providing a lot of reserved parking.

Anyway, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are some.



Discussing the conundrums of MND



John and Jan in front of the Victorian aviary



Beside one of the extraordinary organic sculptures, appropriately this one's a robin (but with a green breast).



In the rose garden. The roses had suffered in the rain, but the lavender avenues were beautiful.




In front of the façade, not of our house, thankfully, but the Manor.

It was a tiring day for all of us, but we enjoyed it. John's MND was diagnosed last autumn, but has already advanced further than mine. There's no denying it's hard, but they both have faith which gives them amazing peace.

Today

Two comments have been left on my last blog. 'Your Jane is a saint,' says Brian. Don't I know it? And Paul asks, 'Any comments about the rather disappointing second day of cricket at Cardiff?' To be honest, for reasons I'll explain tomorrow, I've not been following the cricket today apart from the beginning. But looking at the final score this evening, probably the least said the better: two undefeated centuries. I'm no Geoffrey Borecott.