20 Dec 08 and The Wedding of Sarah and James

The Weather was just right

Getting ready at the Belfry

Proud Dad
St Thomas Church

Sarah looked radiant

There were 3 Best men!

The Bridesmaids were great.Some of their comments made me blush!

Jim and Cynth'

Lara, Dom and Alicia

The Oxford Golf Club

The pictures tell it all. An excellent ceremony, reception and, all in all, a brilliant day

Style over Substance, Isaac's first Christmas and The Wedding

Trips to the Theatre, Flat Four, Isaac's first Christmas and The Wedding of Sarah to James have been the highlights of the last month. Not in that order.

At the end of November the FF 'Bromham' Christmas commenced the celebrations with a trip to Bath market (where I learned the Wenscelas Pizza joke...ha!) and Bath Theatre Royal and a dire production of The Constant Husband. Criminals should be made to sit through this as a punishment. The average age of the cast seemed 100 and the pace, wit and style of the script were squandered. A lack of substance and no style. The weekend was excellent though and 'Christmas Dinner' on the Sunday was greeted with actual snow flurries.

At work the research project continued and I actually completed the first experimental stage and commenced analysing the Control Group. Hope to be finished in January. The expected visit from our Sardinian colleagues did not occur...due to illness, this time.

Managed to get to see David Tennant's Hamlet in London (before he slipped a disc and left the cast). John arranged it and managed to get tickets for the Flat Four Ladies as well as Laura, Ian, Rachel and David. Everybody enjoyed it.....well...did I? The RSC put on a excellent production. It was, again stylish, updated and intelligent. Flashy, stylish but no soul. I didn't care about the Prince and I really think I should. Everything was perfect but something missing. I felt no sense of tragedy (which I did feel when I saw Daniel Day Lewis at the National). Style over substance. Good night though. Polonius and Claudius were both triumphant.

I was anticipating great things of 'Warhorse' at the National. It had very good 'crit's' and I had waited a year to see it. But the script was sparse and, frankly, poor. As my companion said ' Boy meets horse, boy looses horse, boy finds horse again'! Well I suppose it's a children's story? But the technical side was undoubtedly a triumph. The puppetry was amazing. The full scale shire horses were manipulated by 4 people and were the real triumph of the performance. There was a 'coup de theatre' when a formation of cavalry emerged prior to a charge. But again I feel I should have been more involved in the story. I was entranced by the puppets but did not care about the fate of the protagonists. If the production had worked then I shouldn't have noticed how it worked. A bit like David Tennant -lots of tricks and athleticism rather than depth of feeling. Style over substance. Form over content.

Then to a concert with Maddie Prior and the Carnival band. I've loved Maddie for years. But she does less and less on stage now (in a performance), relying more on her 'backing group', and looks tired. Only a few glimpses of the vivacity of old. The voice,once glorious, is a memory of what it once was. She said that Steeleye Span will tour this year (40th Anniversary). I don't think I will go. Keep the memories.

I sound discontented. Not so. Just nostalgic.

The Carnival Band were entertaining and as humorous as ever and I learned a new word 'Macaronic'!

The weekend before the Wedding and we arranged to have 'Christmas' early, at our house so that Sarah and James could come (otherwise on Honeymoon). As it transpired Sarah was ill with flu. So we had a very large turkey for the Jeffcoate-Flints and us. Isaac was the star of the show.

And then THE WEDDING. (this deserves a section to itself so see above.........)

The Queen, new friends and I

Bit of a 'Champagne headache' today but otherwise bright and perky. Spent yesterday on my research on Hyperbaric Medicine (which, fingers crossed, is going to plan) then left work at about 3 p.m. to go home to make myself presentable as I had been invited to the 'Palace'. The Invitation stated that guests were to arrive no sooner than 5.15 and no later than 5.50. So 5.30 seemed about right. No panic. Well, there I was standing outside the gates at about 4.45. Me and about 100 others. It was like queuing for School Dinners. Forming an orderly line, I set about making new friends. The Head of the Dental Association and a Procurement Officer from the Devon Ambulance Service (who had once been a numismatist specialising in Greek and Roman Coins - not a big market for that, 'because kids just don't collect things anymore, haven't the patience' so started working for the NHS).
Then let into the Palace (right on time). On entering there were lots of Officials telling us where to go and what to do....basically have a glass of Champagne, put on a name badge and enjoy the place. They went off leaving me to marvel a the Picture Gallery, I and 300 others. Oh, you would have loved the art work...Rembrandt, Canaletto, Vermeer etc. Also there were mini exhibitions, put on to entertain us, from the Queens private collections at Windsor. These included Leonardo Da Vinci anatomical etchings , books and treatise on herbal cures (one was a note book written by Lady Augusta Summer the mistress to George III... and the writing was as fresh as if written yesterday). Here, I made another friend called Emma who is a deputy librarian at Windsor Castle and an expert in 'Arctic Explorers'. I asked her about a Latin text on display which she proceeded to translate leading on to a discussion about the differences in Latin and Germanic Text. She was nice and interesting so when I made another friend, Lady Roberts, (who is the Head Librarian) I put in a good word for Emma (you have to help your friends, you know).

Then, eating canapes,I chatted to NHS representatives from North and South Wales (Paul and ....can't remember) who told me all about new health initiatives in Wales that are 'Client Centred' rather that 'Product Centered' like what they do in England 'Boyo'.

We were asked to get in line and we were shown to another splendid golden room to meet the Queen. An Official took my invitation card and announced me and I shook her hand and then was politely asked to move on. So, that was Her Majesty...a bit of an anticlimax I thought........mistakenly, as it turns out.

So with more Champagne (hence the headache) and canapes I ventured into the Blue Room where there were exhibitions about Military Hospitals, London Hospitals and Eyes and Teeth (there's a theme here I thought). I made my next friend, a Dr. called Julia, who works for the Medicines Regulatory Authority and we talked happily about how nice it was to be here and foreign travel when we were joined by the Duke of Kent. He asked us about what we did and had a little chat about my clients and the importance of regulating 'drugs' and then moved on.

By this time I realised that some other Royals were 'networking' , namely The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke of Kent, and Princess Alexandra. All of whom I chatted with at sometime or other. Then off to look at another exhibition about Florence Nightingale and perused her original letters to Queen Victoria from Scutari (Crimea) and about the importance of moving St Thomas' Hospital from it's original site by London Bridge because it was too noisy to a new site (where the Imperial War Museum is now) and then from there to where it is now. She was a bossy boots but the Government did everything she told them to do. Victoria was also encouraged to visit her troops which she agreed to do but only as far as going to see them at Fort Pit Army Hospital at Chatham. On her return the Queen wrote a diary entry and sketched the patients she had met. One was of a soldier with a shattered jaw and another was of Sergeant Scarff of the 17th Lancers who suffered a sabre wound to the face. Splendid, immediate, and childlike drawings.

Then met some RAF paramedics and had a chat about DSMRU Headley Court and then networked with the Head of Clinical Services for the Joint Services.

I moved on. Into another splendid room where I made another friend. This was Dr Trisha.... (can't remember her second name) who is the Deputy editor for the British Medical Journal. It turns out that she lives in the next village. Then I chatted to Princess Alexandra who had a very pretty pink dress on and was jolly chatty. Who were we, what did we do, how nice etc. Looked behind me and there was the Queen!. So our group was discretely dispersed by an equerry from the Coldstream Guards and told where to stand (not the Princess as she knew where to stand). I was formed into a little semicircle with some other Health care Providers and up came the Queen. We chatted about rehab. She has the most beautiful smile. I was quite captivated...I know it's daft but it is the truth.

Then I chatted to somebody about the art works on show. I said that being here and seeing the Queen reminded me of the play 'A Question of Attribution' and Anthony Blunt. She laughed and said I'd better not mention him too loudly and that I might get carted off to the Tower. I had previously wanted to direct this play with actress Jenny Armstrong in the lead part. I swear that she looks more like The Queen than The Queen. In fact that never worked out, but Jenny did play the lead in another play I directed in which she played Coral Browne. In fact Jenny looked like her too. Such chameleon like qualities!!!

Anyway, back to the 'Palace'..

where I re-entered the 'splendid gold room' and rested my 'champagne weary' body on a chair that (if it was in the National Trust it would have had a pine cone on it). Here I met The Director of the South Central Health Strategic somethin' or other....who would love to visit my unit...and so it was arranged. I did this with some other people as well....so the evening wasn't entirely wasted.

Then it was 8.30 and by this time people were filing out so I made my happy way up the Mall to Trafalgar Square on a cold crisp London night . Then home to bed...

Other, other things -still catching up

It's been a busy time. There been Daryl and Philip's Civil Partnership
Which was held at Grymdyke (home of WS Gilbert- and where he met his end)

Aaaaah!

Went to Iron bridge and the brilliant Blists Hill Living Museum

Nice Victorian lady

Lara trying on her bridesmaid dress (for Sarah's Wedding to James)

Went to Warwick Castle

The Bowman was funny, informative and very skilful

Actually, this is becoming a bit of a photo gallery. So I'll stop now and take time to consider my next entry.

Other Stuff

Met a Prince.

Sardinia - Visiting Rehab' Facilities

Dr. Sanna, Lyndon and Daniele
A day off

Yeah, I went to Sardinia (on business).

My Mate Gillian

Really proud of my mate Gillian. Two plays on in London. 'Crooked Wood'on at the Jermyn Street Theatre and 'Yours Abundantly from Zimbabwe' at the Oval House. Brilliant productions and I saw both of them. You can still listen to the latter, in a former incarnation as 'Boniface and Me' at her website on http://www.gillian-plowman.co.uk/

Children in Need Fund Raising at Work

The Odd Couple (Cheryl and Me)
How Much Darlin'

The Vicar of Fiddley

We did good!

Grandma and Grandpa

More Isaac with Aunt Sarah and Virtual Gran Sue

Meet Isaac

As of the 29 September I became a Grandfather. Isaac to Ruth and John. He's wonderful and beautiful and ...I haven't the words. Just look at the photo's.