I did not send any cards for the Xmas just gone; though I phoned or e-mailed many friends and acquaintances on my card list, but not all. A result is that, by New Year’s Day, I have received a few enquiries from people I did not contact – enquiries in some cases delicately phrased – regarding the state of my health. As a friend said on the phone last evening, it can be significant when one does not receive a card from a regular sender.

I therefore wish to make it quite clear to anyone who wants to know, and who just might read this blog, that I remain of this world. This may or may not be glad tidings to those who did not know, I appreciate that; I would also add that, as far as I recall from my cricketing days, I was never out in the ’80s and always went on to a century. I am 86 in the year just starting today, so keep your diary clear for 14 June 2036.