Every moment we are all at what J B Priestley's old play called a Dangerous Corner. You are fine this second; but next second you might just trip over the footstool and hit your head on the edge of the coffee table & die. Any second...

But some corners are more significant than others. One morning in October 1956, my parents & I hurried down an approach to the jetty at St Malo harbour as the ferry for Dinard was about to depart. It pulled away, but two nice English girls on the boat pointed us out to the crew; who, more obliging than such crews often are, pulled back from about 10 metres out to pick us up. My father thanked the two young women & invited them for a drink that evening. Over ½-century later, one of them died after being my beloved wife for 48 years. Like MacNeice's ancient world, how 'unimaginably different' my life would have been if those girls hadn't been so observant & those French ferrymen so kind, and we'd had to wait the 30 minutes for the next ferry. Where would I be now? Not where I am, sitting here posting this, that's for sure.

Probably my most significant 'Corner' moment, that.

Yours?

≈M≈