Simon
I keep this letter in my memento box. It's just an old wooden box
that belonged to my great-Aunt Anne, a woman of whom I have few memories,
other than that she wore a hat indoors and spent the last twenty years
of her life in a lunatic asylum. (This was before they became 'psychiatric
hotels', or whatever the current euphemism.).
Jose
Luis was my tennis coach and friend. Two weeks after he wrote that
letter, he was killed in a motorbike accident.
So it's precious for many reasons. More than anything, I love the
details. Those exquisite references to 'bottarga' and 'sweet
spot'. You cannot make Paella Valenciana if you're not intimate
with these terms.
Simon
