Very cheerful Saturday night with Sophie in Highgate. Sophie and I met at Warwick University where we studied Philosophy and Literature, and shared a place.

For some reason we'd not spoken to each other properly in years, and it was only the second time I had met her husband Andros. I had never spoken to her children Electra and Cristof either. It was a big day for Cristof, who is eleven, and had just bought an electric guitar which he was playing enthusiastically when I arrived. Electra was very funny, chatty and full of life, recruiting me into doing cats cradles, which I was useless at, and talking Greek... Ditto.

Andros put the kids to bed leaving Sophie and I to drink some wine and talk. I was fascinated to hear that she has become very interested in Buddhism, and gave me a cd to listen to. She showed me her office upstairs where she runs a successful PR business. She has persuaded me to go to the retirement party of our old Personal Tutor Martin Warner, which will be interesting.

It did my heart good to see her again. Just like seeing my old school friend Mark in a way. I have hooked up with two dear old friends this year and in both cases it felt like the intervening years were nothing. Both are such accomplished and interesting people that it makes me proud to think they are my friends.

London journey to and fro not too bad either. Discovered a train at five past midnight which returned me to Brighton reasonably quickly. And gave me a chance to press on with an absorbing book I bought in Newark airport called Dreams from My Father -- a story of race and inheritance which is a memoir by Barack Obama. The blurb says "... the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American." It is a very well written, and thoughtful book. Obama is a US senator apparently.

Anton, Anna and baby Klauds called around today too. With Anton's encouragement, Klauds helpfully emptied many CDs onto the floor.

MJ off to the launch of an Anthology with her work in it last night. She seems exceedingly perky.

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