Now in her seventies, she was probably nearer than most to the grim reaper, yet few listened to her recitals. These litanies were endless; complaints about doctors and their inadequacies, moans about the side-effects of the twenty-odd tablets she was forced to take each day ‘just to stay alive’, laments referring to her actual and imaginary illnesses. According to Kate, Dotty Dora had made a career out of two things. The first was being in charge of everything and everybody; the second was being sicker than the next man, even if the next man had terminal carcinoma. But Dora’s main goal in life had been to make sure that all mortals recognized her dear son’s superiority. Geoffrey had been to Bolton School, Geoffrey was clever. Not only that, he was a gentleman. Never once had he required punishment, never once had he come home from football or cricket in a state. At Imperial College, he had shone forth like some great star, leading the debating team, running the union, planning all rags and functions.
