Dames

Lovely article in Monday's Guardian about Judi Dench. She has a great story about being in New York with Maggie Smith and being asked about the Sanford Meisner method of acting, which is based on ruthless self-exploration. "Maggie, in her unique way, said 'Oh, we have that in England, too. We call it wanking.'"

I'm now back from holidays and enjoying some time in Sligo by the sea. Am reading Hollinghurst's Folding Star, Zoe Heller's Notes on a Scandal and a few other bits and pieces. Greatly enjoyed reading Toibin's The Master. It's a beautiful book. Barry's A Long Long Way was stunning, really stunning. Willie, the protagonist, comes back on leave from the war to his father, and when the son thanks the father for writing to him, the father replies: 'It was an honour to write to you'. That's kind of how I feel about reading the book. It was an honour to read it.