Claret a reminder of the China days – at a time of more poignant remembrance

I could never quite imagine another dog like Broken China running out of trap three.

He was an unlucky greyhound who found trouble but on this particular night he timed his run to perfection and caught the one dog close home. 1965 sounds about right. Portsmouth Stadium, Target Road, Tipner. 9-2, I think, and a significant step along the road towards, well, just towards, really.

I was wandering along The Cut between Blackfriars and Waterloo last week after lunching with Brendan Brophy, who was due to be guest speaker at the school reunion dinner in Southampton last night. If you have stents (I have three) you owe Brendan a drink because, in the early '90s, he designed the building at St George's Hospital in Tooting which saw the introduction of the Philips Biplane System – the angiograph through your groin or armpit which checks the width of your arteries. He also advised Sheikh Mohammed and his father on matters pertaining to the Deira Tower in Dubai but the racing bug missed him; remarkable for someone who lives at Tattenham Corner.