Page 123 - The Light Dragoon 2024

In-Pensioner A Collins In-Pensioner D Lines In-Pensioner T F Lyall In-Pensioner R Ibbotson In-Pensioner B Weastell
This has been a quieter year for us, compared to last year, as we have not got out and about as much, partly due to the fact that old age does not come alone, but apart from Tom’s lack of mobility and minor medical problems we are both very well.
Most of our local journeys have been to hospital clinics or to the dentist or audiol- ogist. In the latter case, Tom has now acquired a pair of very high-tech hearing aids which are an enormous improvement on the previous ones – he can even adjust the volume using his mobile phone! The hospital appointments have however on 3 occasions been cancelled without notice when we got there which was a complete waste of time. On the other hand our own medical service is outstanding.
In contrast to last year’s sadness at the loss of Queen Elizabeth II and her funeral, we have had the uplifting experience of the Coronation. It was attended by several of our colleagues and we watched it on
television – as you may well have done – and it was most impressive.
Despite his mobility problem, Tom is able to walk with his 3-wheeled folding walker (which goes in a taxi) and has his electric scooter. It just fits in the lifts at Peter Jones at Sloane Square and we sometimes use their top-floor café. We also occasionally have lunch at the Sloane club and in March quite by chance met our cousins Donald and Caroline there, who had recently become members. We have had a few visits from old friends from Cheltenham and elsewhere and went to a concert at Cadogan Hall with our friend Alison Nunn. The southern branch of the Friends of the National Railway Museum have started holding lunchtime meetings, which we find very convenient, at such venues as Kings Cross, St Pancras and the Science Museum.
In May we were able to attend the Cavalry Memorial Parade in Hyde Park, to which we had been going for many years but had missed more recently due to the pandemic. Tom had been lent a folding electric scooter which we took on the coach from the Royal Hospital and he navigated Hyde Park very well!
The Chelsea Flower Show was held as usual, but our main event was of course our Founder’s Day Parade. The reviewing party this year was the King and Queen of the Belgians and we were introduced to them afterwards. Our guests were Edward and Margaret Hollingworth from Cheltenham and we had lunch with them at the Sloane Club. Other events were the annual show jumping competition and a display of classic cars.
We haven’t managed a holiday this year but we did have an enjoyable day trip to Swanage in August. I have a contact on the Swanage Railway, which we have visited many times in the past and he invited us for a visit. He had been instru- mental in planning a new signalling system which enables Swanage Railway trains to travel a short distance on the main line to Wareham to make a connection. The SR people asked us to come in our scarlets so that they could get publicity photographs of Chelsea Pensioners beside their train at Wareham and sent us free tickets. We had arranged passenger assistance with South West Trains who met us at Waterloo and took us on an electric buggy right to the train, where the guard put down a ramp to help us board. He did the same at Wareham
The Regimental Journal of The Light Dragoons
Lines from the Royal Hospital
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