(That was the fall of 1972, the year before Bill died, but who knew?)

When I say we planned the European tour, I do mean we. See, I used to be bilingual. I took a Double Honours B.A .in English and French and it stayed with me for a few years. Bill and his budget comptroller, Bruce Swerdfager, were unilingual, though Bruce could do a pretty good imitation of a French-Canadian accent. The people we had to negotiate with—in Poland, Denmark, Germany, France and Russia—like most Europeans, spoke several languages, but English was not one of them. Their common language was French. Hence my presence was necessary at the table. I listened, I spoke, I took notes, and I wrote Bill’s report, the first draft. This by the way, was the first time any expertise I possessed was acknowledged or allowed to be of use. When Ben Jonson’s, The Alchemist, was produce—

Sorry.. The battery ran out of power and by the time it was recharged I had run out of power.. l’lll write some more tomorrow……