Yesterday we went to the polo at Cowdray Park. It was the semi finals of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup. The final is on Sunday.

Great friends kindly included us in their party. We were the only non-horsey people. Many of them had been polo players or were agents. I met an older gentleman from the Hurlingham Polo Association, Mr B, who had set up an association ensuring the welfare of the ponies. They surprise owners with spot checks to see if the horses are being well looked after. I asked him if he had played polo. He casually told me that he had played for England. Geoff poured the drinks, and at the end of the day one of the guests thanked us for hosting so well. He obviously thought we were staff!

The polo was both thrilling and terrifying. You gasp and “ooohhh” in succession. Fear turns to joy, and then back again. It is a roller coaster for the spectator. It is an exciting sport to watch. I found Matilda, my mate from Chelsea, also happened to be there a few marquees down, so we could marquee hop during the day.

The horses thunder up and down the pitch at breakneck speed, with the polo players wielding their mallets to hit the ball through the goals at each end. The game is divided into chukkas, each 7.5 minutes each. There are usually 6, and so the game lasts about 45 minutes. The players change horses constantly – they will each have a selection of 8 to 10 horses ready for the match. Grooms ride the ponies out to them, and then the players dismount and mount and continue the game.

At half time, the spectators are invited onto the pitch to press the divots back into the ground with their heels – think Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. My goddaughter, Perdita, was there with her sister Tara; two of the beautiful daughters of my great friend, Niki.

Niki was the mother at Noah’s Ark Nursery that my daughter, Anna, constantly pestered to take her home for tea. Niki was kindhearted, and she invariably agreed. So Anna would be whisked off in the jeep to one of the loveliest houses backing onto Wandsworth Common, with Niki, her three blonde daughters and their black, glossy labrador, Keeper.

Through Anna and Mimi’s friendship, first at nursery, then at Broomwood Hall, we all became close friends. We had two wonderful holidays to Bermuda. And they often visited Corn Close Cottage from 2000 to 2001, the period we rented the cottage.

One of the activities we tried, was riding lessons near Broadway. The children were novices. I think I paid for Perdita’s first riding lesson. Ironically, my children would never go onto to ride again after we left the cottage, whereas Niki’s girls are now skilled and talented riders – they have won gazillions of rosettes and prizes. After riding, we would go for hot chocolate in one of the tea rooms in Broadway, or we would find a field and have a picnic. They were happy days.

Today, we have another free Concert and Tea for Older People at St Paul’s, Onslow Square. The weather is looking good, so we should have a lot of guests.