First photo on my new camera . . .

My beautiful mother, Deirdre. A fitting subject for the first photograph on my fabulous new camera. She is a constant inspiration to me, a strong, kind, inquisitive, intelligent woman. I miss her every day when I''m away, and her support to me in my work, particularly during the war last November, has been invaluable.

I feel so lucky that I was able to spend my 30th birthday with her and some of our closest friends. I had expected to be in Gaza for my birthday so it was a lovely coincidence that the conference was scheduled for that time.

We had a lovely breakfast together, when I presented with yet more gifts, including a beautiful photo album my mother made up for me with photographs from my childhood right up to the past year. I adore it!

After breakfast, we went to a market and did some shopping, then went for lunch on the seaport. We were waiting a long time for the bill after lunch. Just as we were about to get frustrated, a waitress arrived with a bottle of Cava and five glasses. Our waiter tried to claim that it was 'on the house', but the waitress told us, "It's not on the house. it's from him." What a treat!

A bit more shopping, a short rest back at the hotel, and then we went for another meal in a fantastic vegetarian restaurant. After all that, we sat drinking whiskey in the hotel foyer until the early hours. My kind of day!