My Other Chinese Ghost.

I had lunch today with an old friend of twenty years standing, but whom I haven’t seen for about the last eight. That was when we drifted apart and she became my first Chinese ghost. For the sake of privacy and security, let’s call her Wong Ying Mei.

Ms Wong (who actually isn’t called Wong any more, nor even by her real Chinese name because she got married to an Englishman with an English name and now writes her own backwards) is a lady of erudition, elegance, style, charm and vibrant personality. More than that, there isn’t any hint of pretension about her and she has very high standards which I admire. More than that even, we get on – still – as we always did. And dare I mention that she is delightfully svelte of form and pretty as peaches, looking easily ten years younger than she actually is?

(Daren’t I? Oh, OK. Draw a line through that bit if you like.)

So, that was what made today delightful, at least in part. She even bought the lunch. (She drives a very much posher car than I do, you see, and that fact in itself qualifies a person to buy the lunches.)

And since I know that she occasionally reads this blog, making this post will save me sending her an e-mail which would have said pretty much the same thing.