My wife Olga is still in touch with the head girl of her high school, who lives in the Midlands and stays with us when in London. Another occasional house guest is a man I met while we were serving Queen and country as National Servicemen in the 1950s. A horse-racing fan, he persuaded me some years ago to share ownership of a thoroughbred. It was a sensationally poor investment, but such are the bonds of friendship that we still see each other regularly and without rancour. True comradeship means taking the rough with the smooth.