There were very few major disappointments at The Nave, but I have one great regret.

We launched the venue with an interview of the actor Michael Williams. Afterwards, I told him how much we would like his wife to come to be interviewed. ‘My dear boy,’ he assured me, ‘of course she’ll come.’ I wrote to her many times, and in principle she was very willing; but somehow we never found a date that fitted.

Most of the people who came to speak or be interviewed at The Nave stayed for lunch and so I had the pleasure of talking and listening to many distinguished people, from Melvyn Bragg to Zoe Wanamaker. But there are not many people I would rather sit and chat with for an hour than Judi Dench. I know that’s not a very original sentiment…