QUITE what hit me just before Christmas, and has persisted until now, I don’t know, but I must apologise for missing out on my column.

A severe inner ear infection followed what I assumed was just a cold. Concentrating on writing, or anything for that matter, has been out of the question for nearly a month. So, I take this belated opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy New Year.

But, there’s always a silver lining. On Raji’s vigorous advice, I went to the minor injuries unit in High Wycombe hospital, as it was not possible to get an appointment in Glade surgery.

This was my first acquaintance with this unit, and while it may not be fashionable at the moment to comment favourably on NHS services, I highly commend this facility to my fellow valley dwellers.

I waited less than an hour to be seen by a doctor; that seemed to me a perfectly acceptable time to get proper treatment.

When I visited my own doctor a couple of weeks later, I was surprised to find that a report of my emergency visit had been sent to the surgery, so continuity of treatment could be maintained. Brilliant service.

So, in 2014, try noticing the good things in our NHS – it’s really much easier to achieve than you might think.

MARLOW Jazz Club’s first gig of 2014 is next Tuesday, January 14, and will showcase Europe’s finest jazz guitarist with his current group.

The multi-award winner Jim Mullen brings his Organ Trio to the Royal British Legion Hall, as part of a tour to celebrate their new CD. Jim’s dazzling and unique single thumb technique is world famous but the other big star will be Mike Gorman on Hammond Organ. Matt Skelton is the drummer. The music starts at 8.30pm, and admission is £8.

SEVERAL musical residents in the valley and Marlow town are regular members of an amateur orchestra called Wycombe Sinfonia.

Each year, the orchestra presents a concert aimed directly at children, featuring many pieces they are likely to know, as well as some intended to extend their musical experience.

There’s opportunity to join in with the orchestra and even conduct it. The atmosphere is informal and completely tolerant of the whims of small children (there are usually many from one or two year olds upwards). Many parents are surprised how the very young readily respond, with obvious pleasure, to live orchestral music.

This year’s concert takes place on Sunday, January 26, at 3.30 pm, in the main hall of John Hampden Grammar School.

All the pieces have a theme related to world-wide travel and the feature item is the well-established narrated story of Tom Sawyer’s Saturday.

The orchestra’s president, Colin Baker, the very one who travelled through time and space in the role of Doctor Who, will narrate the story illustrated by John Dankworth’s music.

The concert is deliberately planned so as not to exceed the attention span of youngsters, and the interest is maintained with some prizes, such as for dressing appropriately for countries or journeys.

The prices range from £3.50 for a child (must be accompanied) to £15 for a family of up to two adults and three children.

Children always enjoy the live concert aura and parents speak highly of the experience, and the journey from Marlow Bottom to John Hampden is not taxing and there’s always plenty of convenient parking.

TWINNING is almost ‘de rigueur’ for any self-respecting and forward-looking town these days.

Of course, everyone probably knows that Marlow is twinned with Marly-le-Roi on the outskirts of Paris. Perhaps less well-known is a charitable scheme that twins public toilets anywhere in the world with your personal convenience, or one of your choice.

There are two well-furbished toilets in the valley’s Methodist Chapel. Each is twinned with a third world facility of more frugal construction, one in Bangladesh and one in Sierra Leone.

The latter looks like a tourist attraction in its own right. The valley Methodist fundraisers (technically known as Loominaires) support the two distant loos through a clever charity, Cord and Tearfund, that specialises in providing toilets, water supplies and hygiene education in communities where such basics are desperately needed.

A set donation is rewarded with a photo of the new loo and the exact coordinates of its position. When researching this I was amused that many famous people have twinned their domestic loos. Among them are Sally Magnusson who has also published a book, The life of Pee, on the industrial uses of a closely associated by-product, and Tim Vine who commented, characteristically, “I’ve twinned my toilet with a toilet in Ethiopia.

If I get there and someone’s using it, I’ll be slightly annoyed!”

FINALLY, Christmas may be a fading memory already, but do please remember to put all those used stamps in the collecting box at the Post Office counter.

Who knows, it may be to your personal benefit one day if you should ever be in need of an emergency helicopter.