Although billed as a Pandemic Diary, other than having an inoculation and the odd socially distanced conversation, there was little relevant to those times and concerns.

In no time, however, I was drawn in by Bennett's spot on reminiscences and comments upon current happenings.

The news that the cast and crew of the new Talking Heads series have agreed to take only a nominal fee and donate the profits to the NHS gives him a rare rush of pleasure in a world dominated by the bleak economics of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump.

Young Alan was strictly forbidden from setting foot in this den of contagion until, lured by Mrs Sherwood’s cloud-like yorkshire pudding, he decides to risk it: “It was as if I’d signed my own death warrant. Contemplating the current regime of hand-washing and elbow-bumping pitches him straight back to the 1940s when the unfortunate family next door succumb to TB.

While Mr Bennett is never less than readable, this very slight volume is the length of a magazine article and really nothing more than an erudite version of anyone's lockdown experience. He made his first stage appearance with Beyond the Fringe and his latest play was The Lady in the Van with Maggie Smith. The biggest takeaway I got from this is that Alan Bennett is also sometimes confused or perplexed by contemporary poetry and grandiose articles in the TLS.

As always, I found Alan Bennett's writing style and social observations delightful, poignant and amusing but the book is so short that I felt a real sense of disappointment when I reached the end of his reflections, leaving me with a feeling of having been 'cheated'! The History Boys won Evening Standard, Critics' Circle and Olivier awards, as well as the South Bank Award. Bennett's lugubrious yet expressive voice (which still bears a slight Leeds accent) and the sharp humour and evident humanity of his writing have made his readings of his own work (especially his autobiographical writing) very popular. He makes his ideas and success sound like mere chance, or perhaps through being with the right people at them right time.With Rupert now working from home my life is much easier, as I get regular cups of tea and a lovely hot lunch. Later, arriving at the vaccination centre for his first jab, Bennett firmly announces that he is here “for the virus” (in his defence, he points out that both of them are “v words”). Generally, I worship at the altar of Alan Bennett but this very slight volume was a big disappointment.

Alan Bennett's collection of prose, Untold Stories , won the PEN/Ackerley Prize for Autobiography, 2006. In Ritual, pioneering scientist Dimitris Xygalatas leads an enlightening tour through one of the most shadowy realms of human behaviour.

HMQ pictured in the paper at an investiture wearing gloves, presumably as a precaution against Coronavirus. Many television, stage and radio plays followed, along with screenplays, short stories, novellas, a large body of non-fictional prose and broadcasting, and many appearances as an actor. House Arrest - Pandemic Diaries' (2022) - is a very lovely, although very short (coming in at less than 50 pages) collection taken from Alan Bennett's diaries of the time. The fact that Her Majesty could probably not manage this today is a reminder of how swiftly treacherous advanced old age can be.