Victoria and Adam

Firstly my Client, he and I, photographed by The Birmingham Post and Mail
leaving a private fim showing
I was Account Executive, one of my Clients being Moss Empires theatre owners
he appeared at the BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME
and I was the Executive handling its Publicity and Press Relations
...........with a central Birmingham Advertising Agency.....
Soon Adam became my boyfriend
and we dodged the fans every night
after his Show
In Sheffield we disappeared into the country

dining there with musician John Barry...He was the top popstar of the day, then actor,
He came to a film Premiere later which I hosted at The Savoy for a film and Cinema Goup
Acting was always his interest,
a very nice unassuming person
he loved my drawings and the music which I liked
which was not the pop music of the day
in fact until his first rehearsal I had never heard him sing
Adam Faith became well known on television as Budgie

Victoria at Himley at Christmas

HIMLEY......This picture at my home sums up how nice it
is to be peaceful and
comfortable in ones surroundings
as I am right now........
whenever I might feel so inclined
I wander outside to these beautiful
views of my favourite
part of England's ..centre.....
and a few hundred yards away is Himley Hall a
favourite walk and place to draw this elegant building
home of The Earls of Dudley

Civil Service Club French Dinner....and my drawings

The Club hosted a French Dinner and I Exhibited
some of my drawings from Paris, including
The cafe scenes
The Sorbonne The dancer and Dieppe

As ever the meal was excellent and a few people who I know came along, we sat with Marjorie who is a Committee
Member and listened to some of the French songs from my favourite films A man and a woman and
Parapluis de Cherbourg
reminding me of my days in the film industry when I hosted the best of British media at the Savoy for lunch
then at a film premiere of delightful film
from
France later that evening.................................................
London for me is always charming

DRAWINGS OF MY CHILDHOOD PLACES

My third book DRAWINGS OF MY CHILDHOOD PLACES
also found a home in the main window of Fagins
which showed it at the MERRY HILL CENTRE DUDLEY
and in its other four shops in the Midlands
In the window my framed drawing of Saint Augustines Church
was surrounded by my books
and for four weeks those of other Midlands authors
I had a book signing meeting many people who knew the region and
appreciated my illustrations
It was an excellent start for the book
which like Malaysia Terima Kasih was exhibited around the world
by The British Council
and is in The United Nations
I personally presented it at his request to Dr Boutros Boutros Ghali Secretary General The United Nations
Drawings of my childhood places ......launched at Himley Hall Dudley............

Conservative Association Dinner & Talk

I was invited by Margaret Measham to be After Dinner Speaker
and so Christopher Durden and myself shared an excellent table with Margaret
and her guests
at Birmingham Perry Barr
A documentary is being produced about my work, life, paintings, drawings, books,
following the excellent video made by Wendy Lloyd for The Express and Star newspaper
last year........ which can be seen online
I was just waiting for the call that it was time for me to speak
as Christopher, who is filming these events, had already set his camera
He filmed my Exhibition and Talk at Dudley, and a week or so ago at Norton History Group and will on 11th March
film the Talk at the MALAYSIA DINNER , which I am hosting at
The Civil Service Club London
11th March

Hari Raya at Jom Makan Restaurant

Peng Chou and I were Zain's guests
at his Hari Raya celebration at The Jom Makan
restaurant in
Pall Mall London

I took my latest Malaysia book 'Labuan' to present to Zain
Peng wore the Malaysia formal dress, Batik,
which is often worn in the warm days in the country
as an alternative to jackets
The restaurant, next to The National Gallery
in Trafalgar Square was opened last year, it is part of the Malaysia Government
programme to encourage people to taste the food..
and visit the country
and
as ever the food was typical Malaysia style delicate flavours lightly spiced

Oxford at Cathedral

I was asked recently in London about Oxford ~University
I spent two years living in the City when I returned from New Zealand,
was invited to many local events . The Lord Leuitenant of Oxford, Hugo Brunner , opened my Exhibition
at Saint Giles and whilst there I had 3 Exhibitions including one at the Oxfordshire County Gallery
in Blenheim........whilst there I met again Dr Boutros Boutros Ghali Secretary-General of The United Nations,
Emeka An Yaoku Secretary-General of The Commonwealth and Dr Mahathir Prime Minister of Malaysia

It is a City of constant movement, interest and culture..I find it to be most agreeable..
and enjoyed two years there..living near to its centre...........................

Hotel and Travel Marketing

I was Director of this company in New Zealand
we held, among other things .. the Agency for
Steigenburger Hotels ,which included
The Crillon
in Paris

I went to Australia on an inaugural flight to Perth with British Airways
to inspect an Hotel there
which had asked the company to represent it

there I was Guest at a wonderful Concert by David Helfgott ....
he and I were good friends
and later at Dinner, at his home, he insisted on leaving the table to play Scriabin for me
knowing that I was totally lost when he played
especially for me Rachmaninov 3rd ..............
it was superb........ as he always was in Concert .........and in a room, he dominated with his stupendous talent
for music..................................................................I would very much like to hear him personally again.....
but for the moment I have his sound on cd ...whenever I hear, I think of this modest, brilliant, man with affection

.................I drew him in Concert..........................................
I have met some wonderful people during my life, and he is one of the most memorable

Barcelona

I was attracted to this small very busy streetside cafe in
Passieg de Gracia
the famous Avenue
where I stayed
which I drew a few times on this visit
with many Designer shops and cafes stretching onto the wide treelined pavements
What better place to stop to talk, watch and relax into
Barcelona' s atmosphere

which is exactly what I did this morning ....
.....as always I enjoy my work .....
wherever it takes me
and now as I catch up with Europe's cities once again
I take great pleasure in this
opportunity to see the city which I visited many times
on business over a 10 year period, and then I
never had time to stop to do this
typically spanish occupation

Conservative Association BIRMINGHAM

I was invited to Dinner and to be
after Dinner Speaker at
the Conservative Association Dinner in Perry Barr Birmingham
the Talk was filmed as part of aa series of films of my Exhibitions and Talks
and one day these should form part of
a Documentary
of my work
which had been discussed by The BBC
some years ago
this is interesting in which to participate and

Christopher the cameraman
enjoyed an excellent meaL
..................as I did also............
Margaret Measham the Conservative Party Organiser
looked after me in an excellent manner
and the whole evening was most pleasurable

Paris

Whilst writing about my book A trip to Paris...
I could not resist this photograph from a different
visit
one for work...... not pleasure
which I did enjoy as always, in that city
and one afternoon I was guide to two englishmen
who had never seen the Eiffel Tower
...or ..........so they said .............
this is all that I recall of that meeting
so it was not totally memorable
but the location was
delightful as ever .........

South of France memories

My recent visit to Biarritz
encouraged me to find photographs from my earlier
visits...................... and this is from
a sunny time when I stayed in Monte Carlo, Menton
and other delightful places on the French Riviera
...........however my
January stay in Biarritz gave me as much pleasure in colder,
blustery, days with the Atlantic ocean pounding on the rocks
near to the old Port
as I had sitting here on the waterfront in
summer sun
I have always loved France
and now enjoy being able to visit
on short flights
instead of the long ones I had to take
from New Zealand and Malaysia
now I show my book A TRIP TO PARIS
to the amusement of the locals
which is what I hoped would happen
to this
........................essay in humour..................................................

Dudley Worcs

I heard from the newspaper that some of the old libraries built by
The Earl of Dudley
were to be demolished
........................................................................
the one which played a major role in my pursuit of learning from early days was the one entitled =
The Free Library
in the main road from Dudley to Stourbridge at Holly Hall
I was dismayed to find that this cetre of a community all of my life... even when I lectured at the Dudley College when there were lectures at the Holly Hall campus
was to close and nothing would remain of an attempt by the Earl to educate the local people with free books
and unheard of phenomenon...... I am advised.......... at the time
Apparently an Appeal was made to Parliament in London to enable this to happen
That being the case this is a witness to an enlightened Baron
who allocated his money to education of those less well endowed
My Grandfather William Bowater-Wright was Manager at The Earl of Dudleys Steelworks a major emplyer of local people
and he had his own farms ...I feel sad that now we do not treasure this... our heritage
as we should........ I have been invited to many countries where people would be so delighted to have just one building like this
and in England it seems that we have so many that some people wish to deprive the local populace of this amenityI

I WAS ASKED TO ATTEND THIS MEETING WITH THE
DUDLEY COUNCILLOR AND LOCAL RESIDENTS
TO TRY TO RETAIN THIS HISTORIC BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE OF THE LOCALITY

Exhibition 2008

The centre of this part of a much larger
Exhibition
in Dudley
my home town
is
a pastel of the
butterflies of Sabah Malaysia
surrounded by photographs which I took in Christchurch
New Zealand of
Princess Royal
and a
Cathedral wedding at which I was guest and walked
with Bishop Maurice Goodall across the city in procession
....it was a splendid bright day ......
then in the botton left is
my photograph of one of my favourite New Zealand hotels
an excellent place to stay.. and to meet friends for lunch
The Park Royal where
I often lunched

MY Online Diary

After I spoke at a Conference in Cambridge I was asked by quite a large number of
people for the details of my website......I had to explain that I am an Advisor..... I do not advertise
and that I did not have a website and as then had no plans
to start one
However afterwards I thought that maybe all of those people might send emails to me
and if they did I would not be able to reply to all
l

which might be considered to be quite unfriendly.... then I read in The Times, my favourite morning occupation is reading this,
of a weblog...It seemed to be quite simple to organise...and I thought that I could do this.....
I could have an online Diary..... as I have every day for myself....
at least one..sometimes many ....with books ..articles ...drawings.. notes.... in
and then I could tell those interested to look at my Diary online
which is what I now do
and now I know that it is read ...as last week I was told... "You have not kept your Diary up to date",
and so whilst I have travelled in Europe I have not ..and during the last few days I have tried
and still am trying, to rectify that...so that those who care can see my work and know something of my plans
for new books, travel, Exhibitions, Talks...and sometimes, as for 11th March a nice Dinner to be enjoyed by all who come
My first visitor photographed in my Diary was AGKader...on the day that we met at the Merdeka Celebration
when I lunched with His Excellency the Malaysia High Commissioner, Datuk Aziz.......
so it is fitting that on my right next to me now on the Balcony of

The High Commission in Belgrave Square
at another Merdeka Celebration is
A G Kader now my Publisher just over one year later of two of my books
'A TRIP TO PARIS' AND 'LABUAN'

WORLD SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL CONFERENCE

After this most interesting Conference where I was guest of
The Chairman, Dato Dr Michael Yeoh
of ASLI based in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
we took time out to relax at The Royal Garden
and talk about plans for other projects in publishing
and maybe even some travel later in the year
Since then I have travelled more again,
in November to Opporto, for a week
in December, Barcelona for a week
and in January, Biarritz,
to which I will return in March

**************************
Each visit is interesting in its own way
as I know all of those countries very well
over many years
and so it has been for me
a spendid reappraisal of Europe and one which I am enjoying immensely
before I return to New York in May

Hoping to see old friends again the special one being Frederick B Wittemore of Morgan Stanley
Former President of The Pacific Basin Economic Council
who I first met when I was presenting my book
Malaysia Terima Kasih as the Official book of Malaysia and that Conference in Auckland

Sir Patrick Cormack FSA MP

Sir Patrick is my special guest at my

Malaysia Dinner on 11th March at The Civil Service Club in Great Scotland Yard London
I am busy at the moment inviting those with an interest in Malaysia,
and those who will enjoy an evening of interesting conversation to my Dinner
This is so delightful to think of the many people who might come,
perhaps some who are simply not well known to me,
those I have met at other Dinners
will join mine

at the time of this photograph, Sir Patrick came to launch with me, my 5th book,
A TRIP TO PARIS'
at Wombourne village Council Chamber,
the village which I had drawn for that book
**********************************
At the Malaysia Dinner guests will receive a signed copy of my later book
'LABUAN'
about the island which I enjoyed visiting many times
where I was guest of The King of Malaysia, The Prime Minister,
The Chief Minister of Sabah, and many others.
I will have an Exhibition also of my first Malaysia book Malaysia Terima Kasih and other works
from that country to which I was Bilateral Aid Advisor for New Zealand and Malaysia Governments
and Consultant to Malaysia Airlines producing also the Official book of the country

Sweden..... memories

Sweden
is so beautiful
and recently, as I have commenced my travels in Europe once again
I have been thinking that I must return to see Stockholm, Gothenburg,
places which I know so well from my many visits when I was in charge of marketing in UK and overseas for GKN

then Europe's largest engineering group
I often designed Exhibition stands for the companies and they were used to display products and the books and brochures which I produced in many different languages
here with a GKN Director and our Agent from Stockholm, Karl Olsen
we were having a typical Swedish lunch with a German Client at this lovely waterside restaurant
it would be nice to find it again
perhaps when I return from New York in May

Hari Raya at Jom Makkan

My new book Labuan in London
which was launched by Datuk Aziz the Malaysia High Commissioner
in Hertfordshire at The Merdeka Celebration attended by about 5,000 people
With Zain the Director of Malaysiakitchen

the Malaysia Government programme to introduce Malaysia food overseas
which now has one restaurant in Japan
and this one his Restautrant Jom Makan in Pall Mall London
enjoyed
as I have many time Hari Raya
the Malaysia celebration
for once ..for me..not in Kuala Lumpur where I usually enjoyed the social
life of the country

I am Hosting a Malaysia Dinner on 11th March with Special Guest Sir Patrick Comack FSA MP
at The Civil Service Club where I have been Member for many years
and Zain is helping with it by providing the excellent food for which
Malaysia is famous

Indonesia Embassy

I was invited before Christmas to a function at The Indonesia Embassy
where Yuri Thamrin The Ambassador
and I discussed my previous invitations to his Country from New Zealand and from Indonesia
Although I was pleased to receive the invitations at those times
I was already committed to other roles
and so did not return
We talked about the possibility of my returning sometime to see his large, sprawling,
exciting and dynamic Country again
and we agreed to meet again in the New Year

Biarritz sea view

Each day in Biarritz
I enjoyed blustery walks
sometimes
along the narrow streets of the old port
up into the little market
and along to the waterfront of the Grand Plage
the large beach which dominates the resort
and which provides so much pleasure for all who promenade.. who go surfing
or simply laze away the days
at this time of year enjoying watching the pounding surf
not like Hawaai or even perhaps Fistral or Watergate Bay
but it still has a fascination for me
just as they do

Les Colones Biarritz

After an excellent lunch
in this delightful restaurant

I sat for a while and drew my view
thinking that I will come back to Biarritz
quite soon
perhaps to walk along looking at this turbulent Atlantic Ocean
again from the French perspective

Dinner at The Grande Hotel Opporto

I sat in the drawing room entrance
to relax for a while
while doing this as ever
I made my own vision recording the
peace and hospitality of the building
in the cente of Opporto

Rua des Santa Catarina

Dinner at The Grande Hotel

as I left the Grande Hotel after Dinner

the street lights which the men

had been working on since I arrived

were switched on

So I went back inside

and the Hotel staff took this and other photographs

so that we could have records

of this very enjoyable evening

The Majestic Opporto

We sat in the November sunshine outside the Cafe
and talked

as I made this record of my afternoon



I caught the train which took me over the Douro river

sat at pavement restaurants

walked through the
delightful small back streets
gazing at the amazing tiled buildings
and pavements
...................................
and in the music shop I indulged my passion for
Fado
the music which I had heard many times in the Alfama district in Lisbon

bringing home more of this from the north
which has a different
but equally as asborbing sound

Opporto

During the last three months
I have travelled to Portugal Spain and France
I decided that
it had been too long since I had seen the parts of Europe which I
used to enjoy so much during my earlier frequent visits
most of which .........
like all my world travels were for various
business reasons.........
like the time in Lisbon when I met The President

so in Opporto I started in the main, delightful, street Santa Caterina
where I stayed
eating in and drawing the Majestic
and The Grande Hotel
where I met and and enjoyed talking to the
people managing these excellent places
for the visitor