I am myself a full member of the Medical Journalists Association but I am also a doctor. There are lots of things I know about lots of people – but I am saying nothing.  It irritates me when journalists of other kinds don’t respect that. 

My life is geared for smooth running and it doesn’t have much slack that I can take up when I need it.  I can cope with the demands of my work – nothing puts me off that – but when I do get distracted, I lose things such as my memory for names and I find that very distressing. 

Tonight I was disturbed by family concerns – nothing whatever to do with me directly but my family matters to me and therefore I was preoccupied by it – and came completely adrift when trying to introduce one longstanding friend to two others.   I completely forgot all three names and they had to introduce themselves to each other.  I felt a complete idiot.

Warren Mitchell, an old Labour socialist, says that he won’t change his act as Chairman Alf Garnett because of the reactions of a few bigots who laugh with him instead of at him.  I’m not at all sure that it’s just a few. 

I read right through all the names and all the lists and a few of the biographies in The Sunday Times Rich List.  The first change that I particularly noticed from last year was that I know personally fewer people in it.  The second change is that those whom I do know are more likely to have seen me in association with my addiction work than in my medical practice.  It would appear (as if we didn’t know that before) that being rich is not altogether good news.

Incidentally, I noticed that Richard Branson has lost £400 million this year.  That’s a bit careless.  It’s even more than I lost.

The man sitting next to Meg at the charity dinner bought something relatively insignificant for a huge amount of money in the auction.  I was surprised and gratified that, at the end of the evening, she came home with me.