Punting.

Samantha is living in Cambridge now that the boys have left. She sold the farm and bought a place there. Why not pop up and see her? I’m sure she’d like it. Thus spake Simon.

So it was that Samantha agreed to meet me in the Fitzwilliam Museum.  I took the train up from Kings X. Things have certainly changed as far as train travel goes. Very fast and efficient. Stations have changed too. No blokes having a smoke among the mailbags. Everything is automated.

I had a bit of time on my hands so I take a bus up Cherry Hinton to a small side street. It’s the house where Syd Barrett lived with his mother until he died. 

She was on the steps at the Fitzwilliam. I got a big hug and we walked around the museum, past the old portraits, the Egyptian statues, the porcelain, and the armour.

" I love this place, ' Sam said, 'I come here a lot. I find it very soothing. Something about being surrounded by old things perhaps.'

‘Why Cambridge Sam?’

‘Nostalgia I think. I studied at Trinity Hall. Happy days. I like to go to Evensong.’

‘Simon told me you were here.’

‘Good old Cambridge. Crawling with Chinese tour groups now of course. What did you think of Simon?’

‘The wheelchair? It was a shock to see him like that. I knew he was going to see Arthur in Thailand but I never heard about the accident.’

‘I didn’t send you those chapters yet. Does Simon know I’m editing your book?’

‘My book? I’m just the narrator. You send me the stuff and I make it sound natural…..that’s what I was told anyway. I assumed you were writing it.’

‘Not me. It’s a mystery. Oh Dick. It’s so hard to stay cheerful. Simon in his bloody wheelchair. We don’t see that much of each other anymore but I still care. And all this Brexit and Trump stuff is really getting me down. I suppose at our age it doesn’t matter that much but it really is depressing to watch the way the world is going’.

‘Times change. Bugger all we can do about it.’

‘Yes you’re right. I used to thing we could but we can’t. Sorry to sound so downbeat.’

‘That’s alright. I’d better be going or I’ll miss my train.’

Then she said it.

‘Why not spend the night here? I’ve got a spare bed.’

‘Well if you promise not to rape me.’

So Samantha took me down to her place by the river. She fed me tea and oranges that came all the way from Tesco. We watched the punts go by etc.