Another Stratford day yesterday, a long and fruitful one, and tiring. More anon.

And I do mean anon, like tomorrow. I just found a story I've been thinking about for quite a while in the light of current events and I want to bring it to your attention and thoughts.. Does anyone remember a 1931 story by James Thurber, "The Greatest Man in the World"? It's the story of Jack "Pal" Smurch who flew nonstop around the world and who has become a great national hero. He's a scumbag with a criminal record, but the public expects a true hero. He just wants to know what' s in it for him: money, fame, good times. The politicians planning his celebration push Smurch out of a hi-rise window, thereby ensuring the preservation of his reputation as a revered symbol. The story is satire. ("Satire," said the playwright George Kaufman [1889-1961], "is what closes on Saturday night.")

Well, I keep thinking of that story and also of the Aesop fable about the frogs who wanted a king.You do remember that one.

Someone once said that every government gets the leader it deserves. [ w:Joseph de Maistre (1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a Savoyard lawyer, diplomat, writer, and philosopher.]

Who decides?

This will have to be quick because I'm going to Stratford in the morning and of course I have to get my swim in before I leave to catch the Festival bus.

This morning I pulled a box that had already been vetted some years ago. It's labelled Bill: Mementos, and it comprises my late husband's life in microcosm, from his birth certificate, Sunday school certificate, report cards, a diary he kept for his 14th year, career moves, to his wedding tie, and a heap of love cards and self-writ poems, to a manila envelope full of obituaries. I didn't cry. I don't cry any more. I was sober but calm and -still - feeling very loved and very grateful.

We're having a family reunion at the end of the month to celebrate son John's 60th birthday and the official welcome of my two great-grandchildren. I wanted to check this box to see if there are any artefacts or mementos that someone would like to keep. I said I was going to be ruthless with my files this time around because it would be the last time. I forgot about this box. Perhaps it's penultimate.

I'll think about it tomorrow.