Armistice Day

Today we met Connor, Tim and Nina at the unveiling of the New Zealand Memorial at Hyde Park Corner, London. It was a big event, attended by Helen Clark, Tony Blair, the Queen and various members of the Royal Family (including Charles and Camilla, and Prince William), veterans, New Zealand defence staff, dignitaries and a lot of kiwis.

Although the public gallery didn’t have much of a view of the monument or ceremony, there was a big video screen in front of Wellington Arch on which we could follow the proceedings. The dedication was nicely done, with speeches from Helen, Tony and Her Royal Highness Elizabeth I.

The music, in particular, was very moving, with a karanga and haka, Hayley Westenra leading the national anthems of New Zealand and the UK, and Dave Dobbyn singing Welcome Home. Surrounded by all those kiwis, and listening to Davey, really did feel like being home. Powerful stuff. The memorial itself is very beautiful, and does an effective job of signalling both the sacrifices made for freedom, and the spirit of our country. I look forward to coming back in the summer…



Afterwards we went for a beer with Connor (at the Sherlock Homes tavern) and headed down to the Victoria Embankment to watch the fireworks over the Thames, signalling the end of the Lord Mayor’s parade.

From there Anna and I went to meet some of the York group for drinks and an ice skating session outside the Natural History Museum to celebrate Mel’s birthday. It was a beautiful spot, under the trees with their Christmas lights, and beside the Florentine façade of the Darwin Institute.

I’m not the world’s greatest ice skater by any stretch of the imagination, but it was nice to discover I still had my rudimentary skills from years ago. I guess it’s like riding a bicycle. After a quarter of an hour I was doing laps at a reasonable speed around the middle of the link. Now if I can just master the art of braking.