I am a great believer in the notion of marriage. Apart from anything else it gets rid of that ambiguous term 'partner' with which I am never entirely comfortable. Though I do offer the proviso that it should be forbidden for footballers.

It seems to me that their subsequent infidelities are not the problem but the fact that they should never have married in the first place. On Saturday we went to the second best wedding I have ever attended. The sun shone, Tetbury was at its best, and the happy bride and groom sprinkled their 'love and let love' magic on all about them.

All of which contrasted with the mood in the country which has been so very nasty. There was shocking rudeness towards Gordon Brown as he left office and seldom a good word is said about anyone in the press. Britain, I read, is 'broken'. It is unfashionable to be comfortable with your childhood, marriage or lifestyle. Stress and depression are worn as a badge of honour, proving you are busy, successful and on trend.

The film sequel to 'Wall Street' is launched and greed is back. Low self-esteem, anxiety and black dogs abound. Let me say this is not my experience. So, I acknowledge that I am lucky in where I live, who I know and what I do, but, risking being called a Pollyanna, life is touched every day by kindness and happiness.

Take Lucy, Alison and Rita, all warmth and jollity, who run the shopmobility scheme at Gloucester Quays where I bought my Ferrari red frock for the wedding to match my fingernails. One minute Mr Brain was employing an army of workers, chopping down trees, climbing ladders and the Himalayan mountains without a thought..next he is eighty and needing a mobility scooter to comfortably explore shops.

And thank you, too, for the scooter scheme at Westonbirt which enables us to proceed at the same speed for once. The scooter that Mr Brain sped about in at top speed, foolishly hooting the horn like Mr Toad, was generously gifted in memory of Mr John Watkins of Tetbury.

I raise my glass to all those getting married with a reminder of Cecil Beaton's words that love is someone you can be silly with.

Visit Lesley Brain's website www.lesleybrain.com