Rupert Hambro

A concert, ‘Raise the Roof’, at St James’s Church, Piccadilly, was held last month. We raised almost £30,000 with a musical evening and readings by Diana Rigg, Anthony Andrews, Edward Fox and John Standing. Edward read a piece about Anthony Ashley Cooper, seventh Earl of Shaftesbury. He was a great benefactor of the poor in St James’s and not only was Shaftesbury Avenue named after him, but the statue with its one foot pointing down the street of theatres, known to most of  us as Eros, is in fact of the Earl. His successor who suffered the incongruous murder in the South of France, supposedly at the hands of his wife, would surely have horrified his forebear, who did so much good work in Piccadilly Circus.

I recently passed into a new decade. With this passing has come some rather surprising advantages, most of which are of a financial nature. My Senior Railcard, which costs £18 a year and gives me a discount on all trains, has already paid for itself handsomely. I would not have done anything about getting one had I not received a letter from the government telling me that I was entitled to it and also to a cash sum to help me with my heating bills during the winter.