3rd October 2021

 Today is 11 years since my eldest brother Robert died. I wonder what he would have made of today’s crazy world. Not for him travelling the world. He refused to get a passport. Not for him a driving licence. He never learned to drive nor cook - he had no cooker in the house -  so today’s fuel crisis/food shortages/lorry driver paucity would have passed him by. Every day he took the bus into town and ate his main meal in Rackham’s cafeteria. No mobile phone/computer for him nor did he ever use the direct debit/credit facilities at his bank; just a cheque book. As a bill became due, he’d write a cheque. He kept no paper records at all. At his death, his house was scrupulously clean, devoid of anything other than furniture and a few clothes. His neighbours loved him. He was always very kind to everyone. I wonder what he would have made of the Labour Party conference last week. He certainly wouldn’t have approved of the deputy party leader’s very public use of the word “scum” regarding the government. Like me, he expected our leaders to be well-educated and polite.  RIP Robert. We could all learn a lot from him.