My rock ,John.

Today is Johnnies 59th and we have some friends coming round for a barbecue: dress-code-thermals .

Found out late last night we were meant to be spending it with 70+ of his other closest friends, but due to a balls up of communication via smartphone ( I don’t have one ) , we didn’t realise we were meant to be at Soupy this afternoon.

I always feel a bit guilty when I can’t go to Ealing Soup Kitchen as it can be quite hairy , especially on a bank-holiday weekend when many volunteers are away .

But saying that I ….a) didn’t cancel our barbecue b) invite them all to come on down to 106 , but I did say we’d help out next Sunday ,even though we have 3 Italian students arriving ( I’ve gone over all stressy just writing it ) .

Anyway ,just like Ronnie Corbett ,I digress .

Birthdays are lovely – a celebration of someone’s life .But for me , they are always incredibly sad and sort-of wrong .It just hi-lights Rosie’s absence .Yes ,I hear all the platitudes – she’s there in spirit , you had lovely times with her ,blah blah blah – but she is not here , she should be here and I am sad and I want her here, now ,with me, to hold and love .

..and of course I am happy for John , and glad that Florence and Jacob are having amazing adventures , but there is still a member of our family missing .

But , the really ,really good news is that despite having her cash-card swallowed, her back-up card not working , Simon’s card not working and her phone broken , Florence emailed John from Urumqi in the far west of China , to say ‘Enjoy the big day’

So with that endorsement ,we dam well will !