This has been a busy couple of weeks in which I temporarily
resumed my flitting about. It started with a weekend in Chicago where I went to
participate in a Pritzker Foundation Conference, essentially on the future of
US Foreign and Defence Policy, which is pretty much anyone’s guess until after
the November Presidentials and most likely after that too. My role was pretty
innocuous – just the future of China. It was all good fun. The Pritzker is very
much private organisation based on
selling real estate and run by a formidable lady of definite views and generous
instincts. So we were put up in the famous Palmer House Hotel in downtown
Chicago – turn of the Century opulence. I rather took to the coffee lounge with
a truly remarkable painted ceiling, recently restored by someone just back from
redoing the Sistine Chapel. The food etc was great – in the University Club
over the road. The kind of place that makes you wonder where America’s
reputation for egalitarianism comes from.
I stayed over an extra night ( which they paid for in the basis that I had come so far) and did the Chicago Art Institute which was just down the road, spending all of one Sunday there. Inside it was magical – the first long investigation of an art gallery I’ve done for a very long time. Even with a whole day you couldn’t possibly do it all, so I focussed on Chinese and Japanese ceramics, American furniture and the Impressionists taking loads of pictures and resting up now and then with a reflective cappuccino.
To cap it all, I had a flight upgrade in both directions, which while only for an 8 hour flight, was very welcome. I assume this was in recognition of my apparent frailty. I watched ‘Napoleon’ both ways, not good but very watchable. Ridley Scott, Gladiator with a French accent as someone said.
Back home I rushed around for 10 days or so, monitoring the
progress of the tiling of the Granny annex, doing as much sowing as possible
and erecting anti-Muntjac barricades. I also managed to fit in both a whole day
recce of the next Church tour in the Bradford on Avon area and the real thing,
when I was both official photographer and note-taker for the group. This was
fun. I think I have paparazzi tendencies. The last church was up on the
hill above the town. When I first got there on the recce I found squash and
biscuits were available; since I hadn’t had lunch this was very welcome. On the
real tour I got there first (insider knowledge- a considerable advantage since
there’s no parking) and was amused to find a minder there supervising whole
troupes of young ladies and gentlemen popping in after school for a drink and a
chocolate biscuit and/or cake. Getting them used to the idea of going into a
Church I suppose.
Otherwise I was preparing for a longer trip to Singapore, but one preceded by four busy days up in London. On the Saturday to see my friend John Hattendorf who was over here to do some research. He treated me to a mini cream tea, followed up by a tour of the many libraries of the Oxford and Cambridge Club and dinner. All very sumptuous, the building a decided step up from the fairly prosaic 1960s building of the Army and Navy Club. He seemed well and we made some arrangements for late June.
On Sunday a delightful time up in Walthamstow with
Christopher, Beth and Elowen sitting in the garden in really hot sunshine,
shifting around in the shade. I was really touched to hear that knowing I was
coming, Elowen had looked out the Singapore bunny I had got her last time.
Admittedly he was being kicked around to start with but later took to going
down Elowen’s new slide. Afterwards Christopher and I went off to do the
William Morris museum. Arts and Crafts are just my thing !
Monday, of course, the first of two naval conferences. The
first was a RUSI/Navy jamboree to celebrate NATO’s 75 years and held on HMS
President, which is now actually a stone frigate on the riverside at St
Katherine’s Dock. The dock has now become a very attractive locale, but one in
which there always seemed to be a stretch of water between you and your
objective. I had a speaking and a chairing role in this but everything seemed
OK. The view outside of Tower Bridge was pretty spectacular. Afterwards some of
us were taken to a local fish restaurant for dinner. I have rarely had a better
meal, I must say. The wine flowed and the company got very chatty, so it was
very late by the time I got back to my club, feeling less than 100%.
Accordingly It was just as well that in the second conference the following day, all I had to do was take notes and maintain a low profile. Also to admire the venue- the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s little pad at Lancaster House, barely three hundred yards from where I was staying. A truly grand place used for big diplomatic meetings.
As it turned out, I met lots of people who I hadn’t seen for a very long time and had a great day, and one that will be useful for my next project. I was only able to join in for the first day, as tomorrow, all being well, I am up and away …………………
