John is the son of one of Don Hildred’s wartime spitfire pilot comrades, Bill. They formed a lifelong friendship – as did most of the pilots – from the second world war. Both are now dead, but Katie and I visited Bill when we were here 10 years ago, and Sally and I visited John and Anne this time. They took a run-down farmhouse sitting on an empty hillside 35 years ago and restored it to what it is now, a lovely place with an attractive garden. Everything in the garden was oriented toward self-sufficiency, and for many years they have managed to live off the produce of their 2 acres. And excellent produce it is. We had tasty exotic fruits, fresh vegetables and juice, and lamb roast, all off the property.

Nice to see them again.