At a low ebb last summer between chemotherapy sessions, I was dozing underneath a mulberry tree in Regent’s Park when, as if in a dream, I heard the magical sound of a fruity voice warbling ‘It’s Never Too Late to Fall in Love’, with orchestral accompaniment, wafting towards my deck-chair. On investigation through the undergrowth, I discovered that the voice belonged to Ian Talbot, artistic director of the New Shakespeare Company (which runs the Open Air Theatre), rehearsing the role of Lord Brockhurst for his own production of Sandy Wilson’s musical comedy The Boy Friend.

Happily it was not too late for me to fall in love all over again with ‘The Park’ (as the Open Air Theatre is always known) and regular visits to this delightful show, performed with an exuberant innocence that eschewed tongue-in-cheek campery, proved more efficacious a tonic than any cancer