Today is humid and hot. There were flash floods in south London yesterday and overnight. My tennis coach, Paul, told me this morning that a man, driving his Mercedes under a bridge, was quickly engulfed by water after a torrential downpour. This caused the electrics to fail, so that he couldn’t open his window. A passing builder found a stray brick and threw it at the window, smashing it after two attempts. The driver managed to climb out just in time, before the car completely disappeared.

A few years back I visited some friends who are close to Bear Grylls. I tagged along to watch Bear film a similar scenario; a jeep plunging off a bridge, followed by Bear demonstrating a rescue of the trapped passengers. They had to tow the jeep out several times and reenact the scene. Bear had to keep jumping back in, just when he’d dried off. The guy is considered, world wide, to be a survival legend. He’s even taken the US president on a survival trek. It was a blast to see him in action at close range.

 

Last night I had dinner at Judy Cahusac’s stylish new home in Fulham. Judy is also a legend; a role model to many women. Before she retired, she ran, and owned, a mega media recruitment business. She made it big in business, before it was really possible for women to make it that big. She was a trailblazer. I also found out, that in a former life, she was the secretary for Peter Cook and Dudley Moore (think 10 with Bo Derek) – the genius comedians – at The Establishment, the first satirical nightclub in London. She also worked for MI5, the domestic security branch; not to be confused with the international MI6 and James Bond.

The other male guest, apart from Geoff, ended up being the grandson of a previous Governor General of Australia, the Queen’s representative in Australia, Lord Stonehaven (pronounced stonavon). He was in office from 1925 to 1931. He, and his lovely wife, have a house in Toulouse, France, where the archives of his grandfather are kept. He invited us to come and see!

The final guest was Jean Cooke, previously Sewell. She was on my first ski trip in Verbier, where I had my Bridget Jones moment, ending up face down in a snowdrift. She runs the retail arm of Wimbledon. Anna, our daughter, went for a job interview with Jean while she was at Cambridge. At the end of the interview, she told Anna to give us her love. That gave Anna a shock! This year Hugo is team leader in the Centre Court luxury goods shop. Go and visit him if you are there. Last year he served Mrs Federer.

I had a royal dream overnight, probably due to talking about royal connections over dinner. In the dream, I was great friends with Will and Kate. I was staying with a number of others at Balmoral. Bagpipes were playing all the time and hearty, ruddy-faced stags and pheasants were wandering around in tweeds. It was time to dress for dinner and to my horror, I had forgotten to pack black tights to match my dress and shoes. Kate offered to lend me a pair of hers. When I went to put them on, they were about 20 feet too long. I tried and tried to stuff them into my shoes, but they just wouldn’t fit. What is the message of the dream? That as a kangaroo I don’t fit in perhaps.

Today I am meeting the music director, Fi, for the Older People’s Concerts and Teas I help with. We have one tomorrow at St Paul’s, Onslow Square, South Kensington, and a cellist is playing.