I showed her psychodramatically that PROMIS can be viewed either as a prison or as an opportunity. She stuck to the former view and walked out.

The captain of the Belgrano, the Argentinean cruiser sunk by a British submarine during the Falklands War, has said categorically that the sinking was not a war crime. He was there to fight a battle and could have turned round and entered the exclusion zone at any time. It would appear that Mrs Thatcher (as she then was) had more real enemies in the House of Commons than she did in the Argentinean fleet.

“Money is no object” said the funder. Oh yes it is – to me at any rate because if I ripped off one patient it would be apparent to all the others.

I turned the key in the ignition, forgetting that this particular car has a diesel engine. It flooded. Meg turned her eyes heavenwards. I waited while the coil heated up and then tried again. The engine sprung into live but then stalled as soon as I put it into gear. Meg laughed out loud. I went back to square one and started the engine again – and stalled again. Meg had hysterics.

There was something very odd about him. He brought his twenty seven year old daughter to the Recovery Centre but watched her like a hawk, never leaving her to say anything for herself. I suggested that she might try out a group therapy session. He took her away. I just wondered what he was afraid she might say. Steve, our assessment counsellor who had spent a couple of hours with the family, formed the same impression that the father really didn’t want his daughter to go to treatment. A couple of patients we sent to chat to them also thought the same.

I’m sure the wormies wouldn’t appreciate being dug up for me to see if they are all right. I’m also sure Meg would ask me how I would like that to be done to me. Let sleeping wormies (and husbands) lie, I say.

I wrote an article on addiction for a Libertarian magazine. I explained my position that I see addiction as a compulsion rather than as a free choice. Inevitably I was attacked in a subsequent article. That’s fair enough. Interestingly, one way or another, I am being goaded towards responding further. I have no intention of doing so. That is my free choice.

My great uncle was killed in the First World War. I knew all his sisters, one of whom was my mother’s mother. I have all his papers, in particular the details of his war service. These would be of interest to a museum or to his regiment. But to me they are personal and I have no wish to part with them. Future generations of my family may have less personal interest and be happy to part with the documents but I am not.

She got what she wanted: everyone was worried about her.

In the private bar we met one of the other donors to the London Symphony Orchestra. Our contribution is meagre and recent. His patronage has been going on for forty years and is already very significant. What a wonderful thing to do with his money. He enriches all of us.