Timely novel boosts Filipino aid

Novelist Michael Arditti celebrated his latest work, The Breath of Night, spookily describing a typhoon in the Philippines in the Marcos era, at the Royal Overseas League on Friday night. The dinner, with 14 Filipino dancers and a menu by the ROL’s Filipino chef, was planned weeks ago with a talks by Arditti and ambassador Enrique Manalo.

“Everyone is devastated by the typhoon and there was a feeling that the party should be cancelled,” says Arditti. “But then we realised it was a good opportunity for fundraising for the British Red Cross’s disaster fund.”