Heaven

DAY 370 TUESDAY 23 JULY 2002

The press are curious to know why Mary didn’t appear in court to hear my appeal. She was being interviewed for the chairmanship of Addenbrooke’s Hospital at 1 pm, and the date had been fixed for some weeks.

I had told her that under no circumstances was she to request a change of dates, as this was clearly the most important interview of her life. Addenbrooke’s, attached umbilically to Cambridge University, is one of the country’s leading teaching hospitals. It has a budget of some £250 million per year, and nearly 1,000 doctors and 2,500 nurses. Mary has been vice-chairman for the past two years, and on the board for eight, and although she is up against a formidable shortlist I still feel she’s in with a good chance.

We spent over an hour on the phone (until I ran out of phonecards) considering the likely questions that might come up. I want Mary to get this chairmanship job more than I want to be released from jail; otherwise I would spend the rest of my life feeling that I was the reason she failed.