| We caught an early flight with Stephen out of Doha, though slightly delayed, knowing that a busy day lay ahead in Bahrain: two afternoon weddings in the Cathedral (though nothing like the 5-a-day that is not unusual in Christchurch, Jebel Ali), both happy occasions and it was good to hear one couple say at the end of the service that they’d be coming every week.
 The 70th Anniversary of D-Day is clearly on many peoples’ minds and I loved the story of the 88 year old veteran who managed to escape his Residential Care Home in Hove to catch a ferry to join others in Normandy. D-Day might have passed me by if I hadn’t received a phone call at 6pm from a couple of young Royal Navy sailors, who were outside the Old Christian Cemetery, wondering if it could be unlocked. I grabbed a key and drove to the cemetery. They had wanted to mark the Anniversary in some way and had looked up on the internet Commonwealth War Graves and found their way to the cemetery. I admire their initiative and I was able to show them the War graves (though not from WWII) and we found a Royal Navy Grave from the 1880’s and that of a ship’s surgeon, which they were pleased with.
 In the evening Tricia and I attended the graduation of students from Al Raja School where Tricia is a Governor. Those students who spoke were all very self-assured. The friends and family of those students who are leaving always make it a lively occasion and there were some good speeches from the guest speaker, an old boy of the school, the chair of the Board and Principal as well as from the students.
|
