The first picture fills me with pride. It’s just a little card but what’s written on it means so much to me.

Today I had the pleasure to talk to the Harrogate and District Society of Lady Golf Captains at Oakdale Golf Club. There was about 80 ladies at the lunch which created a fantastic atmosphere. Everyone was very friendly and I chatted easily with a number of them both before and after the talk.

I have to tell you of a fabulous happening just before the presentation. As you may know, I tend to wear the same clothes most days. Today I wore my black waistcoat which led one of the lovely ladies (who didn’t realise I was the speaker) to ask me if she could order a bottle of wine for her table! I have been taken for a waiter in a few places now. Famously at Tempelhof airport in Berlin where I took a full order and a few times at Betty’s in Harrogate.

I was honoured to be seated at the top table for an amazing meal. The catering staff did an incredible job with the vegan meal. The conversation was easy and varied. Golf featured heavily of course and I was able to regale my neighbours with stories of my golfing exploits – crazy golf in the valley gardens, pitch and putt Knaresbrough castle and my early career as a dish washer at Harrogate Golf Club 1982-83.

After the meal I spoke about MSF for 30 minutes. The talk was very well received and many kind comments were made at the end.

Donations were extremely generous, I am not entirely surprised by this as there was a queue of people waiting to put money in the tin. When we counted the money at the end we found that a total of £500 had been made which is absolutely fantastic this money will go towards making an incredible difference to many peoples lives in some of the most needy places in the world.

Thank you to everyone concerned and especially President Karen Leake who not only organised this event but has been fundraising for Doctors Without Borders as the chosen charity for a full year. More to follow on this.

A very nice afternoon in great company.