A marvellous afternoon at Casa do Frango, a Portuguese restaurant in Borough Market, London Bridge, in the company of MU colleagues and partners. Organised to commemorate former General Secretary Horace Trubridge’s thirty years working for the Union, it was a pleasure to swap stories of musicians and union activism with such an entertaining cast.
Alongside Horace and his charming wife and former West End theatre dance Tracey, were another former Gen Sec and current Chair of PPL John Smith and his wife Sandra, trumpeter Dave Lee and his partner Liz, my wife Julie, Lisa Hayman, Jane Austin, Beverley Dawes and former Assistant Gen Sec David Ashley, who had just returned from a trip to South Africa.
I gave a speech towards the end of the meal, the highlight of which involved the presenting a framed poster containing numerous articles and photos of Horace’s career. (My thanks to Karl Magee of the University of Stirling, which houses the official MU archive, designer Chris Stenner and Gallery Seventeen in Beckenham for the framing).
After several hours of merriment, we walked around the corner to the Market Porter pub, where I hooked with Mark Batchelor as we were attending a birthday celebration later that evening at Amazing Grace, a venue close to The Shard. Thanks to everyone for a wonderful afternoon and I imagine we will be recreating the event in the near future.
