The month has been dominated by two events: my Italian holiday, and the death of an aunt.

Excellent weather and scenery on the Sorrento peninsula made this a very good holiday, especially for photography, samples of which are shown in my Picture Library. I was particuarly pleased to have climbed Mount Vesuvius, albeit only the top 500 feet!

That apart, however, I have to admit that the novelty of this type of holiday - the 27th I have taken, and the 25th with the same holiday company - has rather worn off. So I shall be looking for something different next year: a 'photographic' holiday maybe?

The wonders of email meant that I was informed whilst in Italy of the peaceful death - at the age of 96 - of my eldest surviving aunt, Aunty Kitty. Her last days had been clouded by dementia - giving her a very poor quality of life - so I was relieved at her passing, not least for the sake of her three loving daughters. They told me that the doctor had given the cause of death as 'old age' - reminiscent of the early, Victorian, days of civil registration. I was pleasantly surprised that officaldom allowed this sensitive and honest diagnosis.

Her extended family came from far and wide to celebrate her long life. Happily, though, these are not the only occasions on which we meet.