Liv – where is this tennis being played? When things get tough, I recommend Mark William’s strategy when he was fighting the snooker final and found his nerves getting so bad “it was like playing with a different arm” so he repeatedly sang (to himself) Tom Jones songs (they’re both Welsh) to drown out the negative thoughts swirling round in his head. I’m going to try this myself, someday.

Jul – a word of warning concerning ninety mile beach, should you be there in a car. From the Baederker travel guide: “This gleaming white sand tempts motorists to drive alone the beach itself; but this can be highly dangerous.” So, there you have it! Actually, we all went to ninety mile beach in our car; and I remember driving onto it a little way, and coming across a car full of Maoris stuck in the sand. We helped them out, then turned around and went back. I believe there’s some quicksand around, too, which is fairly unpleasant stuff to get stuck in.

Tan – Mama took “Enchanted April” up North and it seems Granny, who slept through most of it but woke up near the end, remembered having seen it at a theatre, sometime. Both videos are now with Alan and Maria. Enjoy your elephant ride.