On a chilly night early in December, I attended a wonderful charity dinner at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire which raised money for WellChild, the national charity for very ill children with complex medical needs.
The festive evening, hosted by Sudeley’s chatelaine, Elizabeth, Lady Ashcombe, included a walk through the “Spectacle of Light” gardens, where St Mary’s Church was open for prayer, a performance from The Nutcracker by the Royal Ballet and a memorable reading of John Betjeman’s poem “Christmas” by Jeremy Irons. He arrived wearing a dashing red paisley smoking jacket, which he first wore while playing Claus von Bülow in his unforgettable Best Actor Oscar-winning role in Reversal of Fortune.
