How easy it is to write 3 September 1939, or rather how often has one read or written that date in one's lifetime! But even then, eighty-one years ago, conkers were gathered and polished (is there anything more beautiful than brogues in shiny conker brown?) and, as is traditional, now sit in a bowl on the kitchen table. (Conkers feature in A House in the Country by Jocelyn Playfair, but since it has just gone out of print and won't be reprinted till January it would be cruel to remind readers of this wonderful novel. But for those who already own it...)