Neville mentions that Robert Cummings -- an old acquaintance from his days studying under Abdullah and from years together in New York -- attended two of his meetings the previous year. He describes Cummings, a healthy, well-known actor close to him in age, as not really drawn to this kind of gathering ('not his cup of tea'), noting that Cummings came anyway on those two occasions even though it falls outside what he would ordinarily expect of him.