Her Majesty
Tonight I watched a TV programme called Pride of Britain Awards. It was very inspiring--young people raising money for research, a man who pulled a woman from a burning car, a man who lives on an island in the Orkneys and runs the firetruck, the air traffic control, the taxi, the B&B, a tractor, and so on. The most moving story was of a surgeon, David Nott, who spends two months per year in war zones. He started in Sarajevo after watching a man on TV search for his daughter in rubble, find her, take her to a hospital, and watch her die because there was no one to operate.
He told a story at the awards ceremony of being invited to meet the queen. She had him for tea at Buckingham Palace. When she asked where he had been most recently, he told her Aleppo. When she asked how things were there, he couldn’t speak. He suffers from PTSD and sometimes he freezes. The queen responded by having her courtiers bring in the corgis. He said they spent the next 15 minutes petting and talking about the dogs. I was impressed by the queen’s sensitivity and ability to put him at ease.
The glamourous celebrity hosting the event, Carol Vordeman, told of when Dr. Nott saved her life 15 or so years ago when she was admitted to hospital with sepsis. You can read more at the Daily Mirror, sponsor of the awards.
Prince Charles also spoke at the event (he was introduced by Dame Maggie Smith). He founded the Prince’s Trust 40 years ago. It has made opportunities available to thousands of people in disadvantaged areas, one of whom was profiled--a woman who went from a suicide attempt to leading a girls’ athletic and leadership organisation.
One of the great things about the night was how Britain’s biggest celebrities were on hand to give awards to the winners. One boy, for instance, had saved his best friend’s life. He’s a huge football fan and his favourite footballers presented his award. A little girl who has undergone hundreds of surgeries after falling into scalding hot water got to sing with her favourite girl band, Little Mixes (or something like that). The Spice Girls presented another award to a Spice Girls fan. Simon Cowell was put on the spot and paid 15,000 pounds for a painting done by a young girl who sells paintings (usually for 5 or 10 pounds) to raise money to fight a genetic disease suffered by her friend. All in all, a feel good night.
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