Post by Administrator on May 16, 2014 20:45:40 GMT
93-year-old WW2 veteran John Farrow from Tenby had tea with the Prime Minister David Cameron last Monday at 10 Downing Street:
Following the presentation of his long awaited Arctic convoy medal last May in a moving ceremony overlooking Loch Ewe in Scotland John was invited to visit Westminster as a guest of local MP, Simon Hart.
“The tour of the Houses of Parliament was fascinating. Georgina Kester, who had kindly given up time from her busy schedule running Simon Hart’s office to show us around, guided us.
Georgina’s knowledge and enthusiasm gave us a real insight into not only the history of the place but also the intricate workings of day to day government” .said John
During the previous week Simon Hart had informed the PM’s office that an arctic convoy survivor was visiting and the message came back that Mr Cameron would very much like to meet him, if time allowed.
John was just expecting a handshake in a corridor, so when the invitation to tea in the White room at No. 10 arrived, it was a fantastic bonus.
“The White room is where visiting heads of state and royalty are entertained, so for a lad from Salford who used to walk the 5 miles to work each day to save the 1d bus fair to be sitting where The Queen and President Obama had been entertained was just unbelievable!” said John “and then to meet and shake the hand of Mr Cameron, who evidentially was keeping a cabinet meeting waiting to fit in a chat with me, was amazing. I told him how much younger he looked than on TV but he was more interested to hear about my experiences on board HMS Trinidad."
The front of house staff who then took us on a tour of No.10 were full of interesting facts. We went into the now vacated cabinet office and I sat in the PM’s chair where Winston Churchill would also have sat and where decisions affecting all our lives have been taken. We then toured some of the other magnificent rooms with their beautiful furniture and paintings, and were surprised to learn that every year the Prime Minister hosts a Christmas party
for disadvantaged children in those fabulous rooms when they are transformed into a Santa’s grotto and a disco!
We even had the opportunity to see the rose garden where the coalition plans were announced and where David Cameron and Barack Obama had barbecued burgers for 100 British and American Afghanistan veterans at a Help the Heroes party.
The visit to The Houses of Parliament was a real treat, we were so well looked after and are very grateful to Simon Hart and his office for organising it all. Actually visiting No.10, meeting the Prime Minister and, as we were leaving, just as I was trying out Winston Churchill’s leather armchair, meeting the Chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, who came over to introduce himself and shake my hand, altogether was an unbelievable experience which I will be reliving for a long time.
"I was wearing my Tenby tie and gave Mr Cameron some Pembrokeshire honey which he said he would try on his porridge. He told me how much he had enjoyed his recent visit to Pembrokeshire and how beautiful he thinks it is.
Most of all, I was proud to be representing my fallen comrades when I met with the Prime Minister. What a day!”
Following the presentation of his long awaited Arctic convoy medal last May in a moving ceremony overlooking Loch Ewe in Scotland John was invited to visit Westminster as a guest of local MP, Simon Hart.
“The tour of the Houses of Parliament was fascinating. Georgina Kester, who had kindly given up time from her busy schedule running Simon Hart’s office to show us around, guided us.
Georgina’s knowledge and enthusiasm gave us a real insight into not only the history of the place but also the intricate workings of day to day government” .said John
During the previous week Simon Hart had informed the PM’s office that an arctic convoy survivor was visiting and the message came back that Mr Cameron would very much like to meet him, if time allowed.
John was just expecting a handshake in a corridor, so when the invitation to tea in the White room at No. 10 arrived, it was a fantastic bonus.
“The White room is where visiting heads of state and royalty are entertained, so for a lad from Salford who used to walk the 5 miles to work each day to save the 1d bus fair to be sitting where The Queen and President Obama had been entertained was just unbelievable!” said John “and then to meet and shake the hand of Mr Cameron, who evidentially was keeping a cabinet meeting waiting to fit in a chat with me, was amazing. I told him how much younger he looked than on TV but he was more interested to hear about my experiences on board HMS Trinidad."
The front of house staff who then took us on a tour of No.10 were full of interesting facts. We went into the now vacated cabinet office and I sat in the PM’s chair where Winston Churchill would also have sat and where decisions affecting all our lives have been taken. We then toured some of the other magnificent rooms with their beautiful furniture and paintings, and were surprised to learn that every year the Prime Minister hosts a Christmas party
for disadvantaged children in those fabulous rooms when they are transformed into a Santa’s grotto and a disco!
We even had the opportunity to see the rose garden where the coalition plans were announced and where David Cameron and Barack Obama had barbecued burgers for 100 British and American Afghanistan veterans at a Help the Heroes party.
The visit to The Houses of Parliament was a real treat, we were so well looked after and are very grateful to Simon Hart and his office for organising it all. Actually visiting No.10, meeting the Prime Minister and, as we were leaving, just as I was trying out Winston Churchill’s leather armchair, meeting the Chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, who came over to introduce himself and shake my hand, altogether was an unbelievable experience which I will be reliving for a long time.
"I was wearing my Tenby tie and gave Mr Cameron some Pembrokeshire honey which he said he would try on his porridge. He told me how much he had enjoyed his recent visit to Pembrokeshire and how beautiful he thinks it is.
Most of all, I was proud to be representing my fallen comrades when I met with the Prime Minister. What a day!”