Lionel Walsh • My Life and Times
Chapter eighteen
“I’ll never forget that Ryanair flight...”
20 March 2010: my 80th birthday party
The first truly memorable event of my life in England was my 80th birthday party, organised by son Terry, daughter Therese and attended by brother Michael with friends from every phase of my life, including Michael Perkis, my oldest friend,who partnered me in the three-legged race, which we won in the 1935 Clifton House school sports.
With Gill O’Meara and Randy Holden
Other guests included Mike Nelson, Jack Hartzmann, Bob Taylor and Bob Hart of Reuters and, from the International Chamber of Commerce, Martin Wassell, Stefano Bertasi, and Dawn Chardonnal, my wonderful secretary at the ICC, plus Alexandra Huynh-Ba, daughter of my late journalist friend, Roger Beardwood, and Paul and Alison Clements Hunt, formerly of the ICC but now living in Geneva and working for the United Nations.
With ICC colleagues Mary Gilliver, Stefano Bertasi, Dawn Chardonnal and Martin Wassell
Maria Cattaui, Secretary General of the ICC in my final years there,
sent the following message:
“Please extend to Lionel my warmest best wishes. Tell him that everywhere I go I speak about him.
He could whip up an op-ed from two ideas badly strung together by one of us and turn these into a coherent and sharp article.
I think very often of our years together. And how much I owe to him, his skills, his terrific humour. It was always the most enjoyable part of the day to meet with him.
Thanks for bringing to Lionel all my wishes for his birthday.”
With Reuters colleagues Tony Winning (see his piece on the Reuters people's website), Steve Somerville, Mike Nelson, Jack Hartzman, Bob Taylor
Brother Michael (above and, below, with Therese and Terry) led the birthday tributes
With Alexandra Huynh-Ba, daughter of my late journalist friend, Roger Beardwood
The fellows from Reuters
See extracts of speeches and tributes from my brother Michael, Mohsin Ali, Michael Reupke, Donald Armour, Randy Holden
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Copyright © 2010 Lionel Walsh