Founders, South Quad

A day of further catching up with my oldest friends, finding out about their lives over the last 40 years. We all have children - five boys and four girls between us - and it was fascinating to hear how they're doing. It can be tough out there for young people. It was a delight to discover that I knew one of the daughters through her journalism and her regular appearances on Newsnight. I'd never made the connection - although it seems obvious now. It was good to hear a story of hard work and talent being rewarded.

We mostly avoided Brexit (four against one) but couldn't get away from the environment. Our group consisted of two mathematicians, an ecologist, a botanist and a zoologist. The discussions we had were rather depressing. There's no winning.

We were taken on a tour of the campus by a bubbly psychology student from Spain. She was as keen to hear our stories as she was to tell us about all the new developments. On finally reaching Founders, there was an opportunity for me to take our guide to places she'd never reached before, namely a tunnel that runs underneath the dining hall that's situated between the two quads. When we emerged, she was much relieved to soon recognise where she was and take control again. It's an amazing building.