I’m staying in suburban Shangri-La – but I yearn for the Hove-l

After two weeks and a day of living in a suburban home to look after a cat and visit a mother in hospital, we are now all where we are meant to be.

It wasn’t long after I filed last week’s column that I noticed that my mother was on the mend.

The switch from her losing her marbles to her regaining them is remarkable.

My asthma medication was running out, and the thought of her arrival wasn’t helping my condition, so I told my brother that he’d have to take over.

“I’ve been hospitalised with this before,” I said, “and I really don’t want to see the inside of a hospital again for as long as possible”.