Several years ago my friend Polly turned up at one of my parties toting an infant she had given birth to in her home about twenty hours earlier. She was, as was her way, completely unfazed. In fact, she was probably more energetic than the rest of us. This seemed to set an impossibly high standard.
But this morning we went to a brunch in Grantchester to visit Don and Barbara and wish her a happy birthday – and they introduced us to their brand new baby boy, born at lunchtime yesterday after a quick dash in a van and twelve minutes in the hospital.
We sat in the garden of a thatched cottage, toasting her with champagne, marveling at her hospitality and cheer.