Milan Rai

We had guests last night, who we hadn't met before. Dennis G. had asked if we could provide a bed for the night to the Milan and Emily, the co-editors of Peace News, who would be speaking today at the exhibition of books he has organised at the Old Town Hall, in the Shambles market place in Stroud.

This morning I had more time to properly 'meet' them as we breakfasted. They have been co-editors of Peace News for more than five years, and Dennis knew Emily's parents very well before she was born, when they all worked for Peace News in the 1950s and 60s.

They wanted to walk into town, so I pointed them in the right direction, and followed on a bit later. I had promised to take some pictures of the exhibition for Dennis' archive, so I went a little before they were due to speak and started to record the Ten Favourite Books of the thirty contributors. I will finish it tomorrow, as a fellow blipper, Enzo, is attending tomorrow's lunchtime talk by a publisher friend of Dennis. Probably I will blip more from the exhibition then.

Milan and Emily talked of the origins of Peace News, alternating with each other as they expressed the varied activities and current direction of the movement. I knew very little detail of their work and was very impressed, and moved. We went for a swift light lunch before the 3pm train back home, said our very good byes and I now hope we will meet again one day.

I went back to the exhibition to carry on recording it, but was delightfully waylaid there by Richard, who I have seen too little of for the last couple of years. We caught up. Then I came home in the cold wind, have now lit a fire and am blipping quickly before our friends come round for a game of scrabble in front of the hot coals, after a meal Helena is cooking. I'm hungry.