It was my absolute pleasure last week to enjoy the company of John McCarthy, together with 50 alumni from Hull University, organised with such care and attention by the lovely Jane Bennett-Powell.  I have written about John before and his rare ability to tell a story with humble profundity, wrapping the graphic experience and horror of captivity interwoven with a series of warm reflections on his fellow cellmates.  Hearing the story again truly makes me wonder - would I have even lasted 15 minutes, let alone five years?  At The Union, he told a nice story about being thrown out the the Brynmor Jones Library for smoking on the back stairs.  The man who evicted him; none other than Philip Larkin.  

UPDATE:  November:  A nice film of the event here from the Hull University Alumni site and thanks to Jane, Chris Cagney and the rest of the team for helping to put the event on at the delightful Union Club in Soho.  Even the credits made me smile.  Not drowning, but waving.