Peter Stilbs in Cambridge

Over all the time of my cancer, many good friends have encouraged and supported me. Amongst those is my very dear and longstanding friend, Peter Stilbs from Stockholm. Peter is Professor of Physical Chemistry at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH).

Over many years, I have made a habit of travelling to Sweden and spending time with Peter in his summer house. Many a happy evening has been spent on the porch, eating Scandinavian delicacies, drinking schnapps and beer, and keeping a keen eye out for deer in the meadow and swifts in the sky. We have often walked the forest collecting cloudberries and I have many times made an early morning jog through the trees down to the local lake for a refreshing dip.

I would have loved to have gone to Sweden again this year, but Peter insisted he visit me, so as to minimize my travel. I hadn't seen him for three years and it was a delight to spend two days with him in Cambridge, dining in College, walking the backs, wandering the courts and streets, and, on the last day, introducing him to another old friend, Michael Kelly, the Prince Philip Professor of Technology at Cambridge and Fellow of Trinity Hall. Michael shares Peter's skepticism about climate science and it was fascinating joining in their discussion at a Trinity Hall breakfast.