Last Saturday, I, with several members of my family, had the honour of being a guest at the Christmas dinner of the Capstone Lodge of the Royal Antediluvian Order of the Buffalos (the Buffs).
Thanks to Lez Cann for inviting us and thanks to the Buffs for letting us in! As it has been for the last few years, it was held at the Osborne Hotel and, as always, was an excellent evening. Nick and his team at the hotel have catering for large parties down to a “t”, so the food was good, the wine was good and the company was outstanding. What more could you want?
The Buffs are one of several similar social and charitable clubs in Ilfracombe. I can think of the Rotary, Compass Rotary, Round Table and Lions. Amazing that our little town can host so many, all thriving, when towns far bigger than ours struggle to host even one.
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If you are a science fiction reader, you might like to know that last Saturday was also the centenary of the birth of Sir Arthur C Clarke.
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If you are a science fiction reader, you might like to know that last Saturday was also the centenary of the birth of Sir Arthur C Clarke.
He was born in Minehead, just along the coast from us, and grew up in Bishops Lydeard near Taunton. He is probably most famous for being a co-writer of the screenplay for the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. He died in Sri Lanka in 2008. My favourite books by him are The City and the Stars, which Centipede Press (a small US publisher) published a special edition of a few months ago, and Childhood’s End, which Centipede Press is going to publish a special edition of next year.
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I am not normally a fan of the Day of This, the Week of That or the Year of The Other, but I have to say that the Year of Engineering, which launches in January, could, if it achieves its aims, be very worthwhile. Back in the heyday of the British Empire, people like Isambard Kingdom Brunel were almost superstars, yet they were engineers, not chefs, research scientists or boybands! The founders of the firm I worked for most of my life, George Croydon Marks and Dugald Clerk, were likewise engineers, and Marks became a Baron, whilst Clerk was knighted. Nowadays in England, engineers are nowhere near as highly regarded, and yet engineering, of various sorts, is fundamental to the functioning of our society. I understand that the status of engineers in Germany is far higher, and look at the standing of their economy. Anything which raises the profile and status of engineering must be good.
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And finally, I expect that my next blog will not surface until after Christmas, and so I will take the opportunity now to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, whatever your faith, gender, nationality or political affiliation.
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I am not normally a fan of the Day of This, the Week of That or the Year of The Other, but I have to say that the Year of Engineering, which launches in January, could, if it achieves its aims, be very worthwhile. Back in the heyday of the British Empire, people like Isambard Kingdom Brunel were almost superstars, yet they were engineers, not chefs, research scientists or boybands! The founders of the firm I worked for most of my life, George Croydon Marks and Dugald Clerk, were likewise engineers, and Marks became a Baron, whilst Clerk was knighted. Nowadays in England, engineers are nowhere near as highly regarded, and yet engineering, of various sorts, is fundamental to the functioning of our society. I understand that the status of engineers in Germany is far higher, and look at the standing of their economy. Anything which raises the profile and status of engineering must be good.
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And finally, I expect that my next blog will not surface until after Christmas, and so I will take the opportunity now to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, whatever your faith, gender, nationality or political affiliation.
But please spare a thought for those who cannot enjoy Christmas – the homeless, the poor; and those whose jobs keep them from their families at this most family-centric time of year – doctors, nurses and others of the emergency services who are working to keep us safe and healthy while we eat, drink and be merry. The family of Aiden Platt, for whom there will always be someone missing at the Christmas table.
And Marcus Hutchins, trapped in a distant, alien and hostile land, alone without his family, and with no idea when he will be able to return to civilisation.
Peace on Earth
Good will to all
(even politicians).
Good will to all
(even politicians).
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