On the table was a copy of a book by Hans Henny Jahnn which caught my eye. How many people know of Hans Henny Jahnn the author? How many of you know about his influence on organ reform and appreciation of historical organs as well for that matter? A book about him and his work in the field of organs has just been published in fact, and I hope to be able to get to read it soon but so far I had never realised he was also something of an accomplished author, contemporary with Thomas Mann, and sufficiently similar and of sufficient stature that somebody has written a book comparing the two of them (also on the table in Sir Peter's house). Jahnn apparently on occasion would run out of words in his books and write music instead. HHJ was of course a great correspondent with Beckerath until they fell out over something and never reconciled their differences, as far as I know. Both HHJ and Mann were writing novels about Faust at the same time without the other realising it. Faust is said to have been an pharmacist working in Staufen near Freiburg in the Black Forest, co-incidentally where we spent our summer holidays this year.

Back to the Bevans' at Stromness (a delightful little town where you drive down the main street wondering if it is going to be wide enough for the car - there are no pavements; we are talking about walls here - and then come across a car coming in the opposite direction!) They make all sorts of very good whiskeys in Scotland, the like of which (unless you are a real connoisseur, of course) you never hear of down here in the Smoke. Up early the next day (Tuesday) and in the hire car to Kirkwall airport, little more than a Nissan Hut really (leaving the car in the airport car park with the key inside it - where can you still do that?). Back to Aberdeen and then Heathrow and to work in the afternoon, the effects of the whiskey having just about worn off by then.