This evening finds me in a fairly dark mood, truth be told. Tomorrow morning will see me and John on the train to Warrington for the funeral of Lee Donnelly, one of my oldest and best school friends. I hadn’t seen him for quite some time, but after what happened with Richard eleven years ago, I really wanted to make the effort to  go up and  say goodbye. That group of friends is nearly all gone now: from ten, there are now only four of us left. The lads I grew up with have all passed away one by one, so that, although I have a new, fascinating life here in London,  every now and again my old life catches up with me. Those lads all deserved  a life as long and as vibrant as mine: their deaths seem so unjust and unfair. They all relished life, and taught me to never, ever give up. Tuesday sees the funeral  of one of my greatest, best friends;  a guy who I wanted to introduce to  Lyn and Charlotte and all the rest of them one day. The fact that I no longer  can makes me want  to cry. Frankly, a world without Donno seems very dark and unjust indeed.