John writes, “A month ago, after three terrible hurricanes in the Caribbean, there was a tropical storm called Nate, which caused torrential rain in several parts of Costa Rica. Houses, bridges and roads were swept away and a month later, eight communities are still isolated. This made my thoughts go back to wartime Stowe. Great Britain was fighting for its life and yet I cannot remember a day when there was no hot water for showers, no heating, electric light for reading or petrol for mowing the playing fields. As schoolboys we took all these things for granted. 75 years later I realise how astonishing this all was.”
