No visit to New York would be complete without a trip up the Hudson River to Cold Spring to see my university contemporary and friend of thirty-six years’ standing, Adrian Ellis and his wife, Libby. Adrian has just finished a five-year stint as executive director of Jazz at the Lincoln Center and is currently building up for another major project. The link spells out his glittering career,  primarily in culture and the arts. The house, lake and surrounding forest at Cold Spring is his little slice of paradise. The house was designed by a Gropius student and Adrian recently learned that one other identical house was built a few miles away. It currently belongs to Steve Reich. I like the musical echoes (Adrian is a jazz fanatic). After a swim in the lake, Adrian and Libby treated us to a delicious supper whilst Nicos supplied an excellent Cypriot white wine. The evening was the perfect antidote to the heat and energy of New York.