To of my oldest friends came to lunch in the garden today, Geoffrey and Jessica Hanscomb, both in their 90s and in splendid form. I am supposed to be Geoffery’s executor but it looks more likely to be the other way around.
My good friend Dr. Michael Long arrived today with daughter Kate for an overnight stay. It was lovely to see them and we enjoyed a pleasant lunch at the local pub the Axe & Compasses.
The important thing to come out of this visit was Michael’s total commitment to assisting me to go to China in October to give my lectures. As a result I have now made a provisional booking, with my travel agent, which I hope to be able to confirm on Monday.
Dropped off my Australian friends mid-morning. Michael heading for Gottenberg and Kate for Paris.
This was the evening of the dinner given for me at the Atheneum Club in Pall Mall, organized by my good friend John Tackerberry QC and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
There was a wonderful turnout of 50 plus in a beautiful private room. We had drinks in the garden which it shares with the Travellers Club and one other. The food and wine were delicious and the John’s speech kind and flattering but most important he quite rightly acknowledged Alice’s very important role in my life and therefore her contribution to whatever modest achievements I am said to have made.
My humble contribution seem to go down extremely well, I was lucky, I felt in particularly good form and had a very receptive audience. I cannot resist repeating here the two anecdotes, relating to the Athenaeum, with which I started my talk. I do hope the second one does not give offence to anyone but it was meant to have happened. (Allegedly!!)
“When Sarah, John’s PA, told me that the venue would be the Atheneum and not Willes Road Chambers, which I initially suspected would more than adequately accommodate the number of interested persons, I was reminded of the possibly apocryphal story of F.E Smith ……(who) was the conservative Lord Chancellor and personal friend of Winston Churchill’s, whose habit it was to lunch at Whites and on the way back to the House to drop in to the Atheneum to relieve himself. After the fourth or fifth visit the hall porter said, “Excuse me sir, are you a member?” “Oh,” said the Lord Chancellor,” is this a club too?”
F.E Smith, was a renowned wit, as a 1924 entry in Evelyn Waugh’s diary records. When an English High Court judge presiding in a sodomy case sought advice on sentencing from Lord Birkenhead. “Could you tell me,” he asked, “what do you think one ought to give a man who allows himself to be buggered?” Birkenhead replied without hesitation, “Oh, thirty shillings or two pounds; whatever you happen to have on you.”
It was a lovely evening and I was greatly honoured and flattered by so many kind and important people turning out to acknowledge the modest contribution I have made to arbitration.
The third day of the current test in the Ashes series with England being in a strong position but sadly, as I write, the start of today’s today has been delayed by rain.
My literary executor and good friend, Dr. Julian Critchlow and his partner Lucy, will be here shortly for the weekend. Sadly the chilly un-seasonal inclement weather will probably prevent us from having our champagne in the garden.
A nice young auxiliary nurse, Kelly, came and cut my fingernails. What is even more encouraging is she has agreed to pop in every 3/4 weeks to repeat the process. However, she accepts that this is not an ‘as of right’ service provided by the NHS, so I have now written to my MP on the subject.
My back scratcher, which I have had bent to a 135° angle as my arms are not strong enough to reach behind my back, was returned to me today. However, I can see now that the ideal angle, for someone in my position, would be probably one closer to something like 30°. I shall experiment.
Lunch at the Axe & Compasses, Arkestan with John Power and Michael Reynolds, who has recently ended an eight year marathon at LSE to earn his doctorate – well-deserved.
Spent the last two or three days finalising the memorial address I am to give on the 23 September in Dublin. To make it more interesting I have prepared 71 PowerPoint slides. Quite an effort with my weak hands but nevertheless, thank heavens, the task is now completed.
A last-minute invitation to supper with the W-P’s. It was one of those rare beautiful summer’s evenings where we were able to eat outside. Delicious food and a lovely way to spend the evening.
Last Tuesday we drove up to Shropshire to spend the night with my parents. We took them out supper and left early the following morning for Bwlch Uchaf where we stayed until returning to Nan and Richard on Friday and home on Saturday.
The Griggs’ and Ensoms came to lunch and we were able to eat in the garden. A rare event for summer….
I went to London today to deliver the antique engraved eggcup, spoon and napkin ring which I had bought for Baxter Alexander – Karyl and Monti’s three month old, handsome offspring – as a totally inadequate ‘thank you’ to both of them for their kindness, in a variety of directions over the years. The journey to their house was pretty exhausting and I was alarmed to find that on each occasion that I changed trains I had to request someone to assist me to stand up. My legs simply would not work by themselves.
Lunch today at my favourite restaurant, Sheekeys, off Charing Cross Road, with my dear old 92-year-old friend, Geoffrey Hanscomb. He was in great form with nothing more than the occasional touch of gout – in his case a medical condition rather than a by product of an excess of alcohol! I wonder whether this will be our last Sheekey lunch and which of us will go first? As his executor I really ought to hang around longer than he does. It is a bit of a struggle for both of us. I travelled by train to Liverpool Street station, underground to Tottenham Court Road and walked from there. Unfortunately, I started off down Oxford Street having got confused by all the hoardings put up for the Crossrail reconstruction of Tottenham Court Road Underground station. This added around 100 yards to the walk from Tottenham Court Road Station to the other side of Trafalgar Sq Underground Station. It is quite a stretch and was just about as far as I could manage with my legs. Anyway, I wonder how much longer I shall be able to walk that sort of distance.
Once in the restaurant, having arrived before my host, I decided to have a pee to make room for the champagne to come. This was accomplished by soliciting the assistance of one of the young waiters to stand guard outside the door of the disabled loo, as I can no longer manipulate the lock, and they once I had done my business, assist me to adjust my dress. He didn’t seem to mind but then what choice do I have. Similarly, when it came to ‘ dressing up’ with my two wrist supports, apron, wipeable sleeve and shoover, these were all put on in the best of humour by one of the Polish waiters.
When it came to going home, although ‘my lovely’ had insisted that I got a taxi, I was loath to do so, having had such a bad experience getting in and out of the taxi last week following and opted to travel by bus. I got back to Liverpool Street Station on the Number 23 bus but stupidly took the wrong turning and went down Duncannon Street, missing the main bus stop and found that I had to walk almost a complete distance of the Strand before I found a stop. When the bus arrived the driver, noticing my difficulty in stepping up, lowered the step which I thought was very decent of him.
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