Simon I keep this letter in my memento box. It's just an old wooden box that belonged to my great-Aunt Anne, a woman of whom I have few memories, other than that she wore a hat indoors and spent the last twenty years of her life in a lunatic asylum. (This was before they became 'psychiatric hotels', or whatever the current euphemism.).
Jose Luis was my tennis coach and friend. Two weeks after he wrote that letter, he was killed in a motorbike accident. So it's precious for many reasons. More than anything, I love the details. Those exquisite references to 'bottarga' and 'sweet spot'. You cannot make Paella Valenciana if you're not intimate with these terms.
Simon
