A quiet corner

The funeral of my old friend Dave Parry took place far south in Oxfordshire today. I took an early lunch break in order to go up to the Canongate and sit quietly for half an hour in the little eighteenth century garden we call the Mushroom garden - although it's really called Dunbar's Close garden but it was restored and is maintained by a mysterious charity called the Mushroom Trust. It's always very peaceful, in spite of being only yards from a Royal Mile full of tourists.

Beyond the wall is the Canongate Kirk, which Dave P would have loved as he was a historian and delighted in old churches. Quoting a friend who sent me an account of his funeral: "Dave is buried in a lovely peaceful churchyard, filled with birdsong, blackthorn flowering in the hedgerows and a view over the countryside. He was a really lovely man, and we will all miss him." Couldn't have put it better myself.