Sunshine

Wednesday turned out quite busy. After the Premier radio slot, we whizzed back home through rain as if the angels had left the sluice gates open. We were out again at about twelve because we were having lunch with our friend Brenda.

Brenda, like me, is vegetarian. Unlike me she is such a great cook I want to kidnap her and lock her in my kitchen. She is also one of the kindest and - I'm going to make up a word here - sensiblest people I know. She is also warm and charming, and has the gift of making everything around her beautiful and everyone around her at home. It got even better, because she'd invited another friend from way back, a warm and funny woman whose physical health is flaky and whose spirit is indomitable. We should put those two in charge of the world. Brenda served up a scrummy lunch and we talked for hours. Wow, we have some wonderful friends! Tony and I just had time to turn ourselves round and get out again for...

do you know about The Proclaimers? Two Scotsmen with a sound that goes straight to where you need it. We saw them live at Greenbelt 2012 and their signature barnstormer '500 miles' was possibly the high point of a great festival. There's a new film out called 'Sunshine on Leith' based on their music and set in Edinburgh. Sunshine on Leith is one of my favourite songs in all the world, so I only hoped that the film did it justice. (Leith, by the way, refers to a district of Edinburgh and the Water of Leith, the river that runs through it.)

What a beautiful, true, happy and sad, moving, funny film, and the set pieces make you want to get up and dance. I've been going round singing Proclaimers songs ever since, and this is still in my head -

While I'm worth my room on this earth
I will be with you

As long as the Chief puts sunshine on Leith
I'll thank him for his work, for your birth and my birth

Please, find it, listen, watch.