Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THE PRETTY RECKLESS
Death By Rock And Roll
★★★
An homage to classic rock of the past 60 years, Taylor Momsen has never sounded so fierce. Her maturing husky vocals add finesse to the track 25 and to psychedelic Beatles pastiche Broomsticks. Features members of Soundgarden and Tom Morello.
I love all things British and I love tradition (as long as its morally right, of course) so this week I was so humbled to be awarded the Freedom of the City of London by the Lord Mayor, William Russell, hosted by the Clerk of the Chamberlain’s Court.
Sadly it was all done remotely rather than at the Guildhall in London, but none the less it was such an honour to be recognised for my fundraising and support of Prostate Cancer UK – and yet again it made me proud of what I’ve achieved in my six years since diagnosis of terminal prostate cancer.
Once, being given the freedom of a city was an important trade opportunity as without it you could not easily sell your wares and during the presentation they mentioned many great livery companies who made sure that trades people of the day produced goods to an acceptable standard of quality.
Listening to the current
Lord Mayor, it reminded me of the tale of Dick Whittington, which was told to me as a child. That, of course, is the story of a man who rose from humble beginnings to also become Lord Mayor of
London (four times!). I recall that tale giving me belief that anything can be possible if you want it enough.
Today the award is more of a recognition than having any actual privileges, but my chest swelled with pride when I thought more recently of the late Captain Sir Tom Moore who was also awarded this prestigious accolade not so long ago.
I was somewhat humbled to compare my relatively small charitable efforts to the enormity of what that incredible man achieved at such an unbelievable age.
I do hope that Dick Whittington, Captain Sir Tom and, humbly, myself in some way inspire you all to believe in the impossible, chase your dreams and never ever give up.
Until next week,
Kev
I was humbled to compare my charitable efforts with Sir Tom’s
justgiving.com/fundraising/kevin-webber8
A man has regained his sight after being the first person to receive an artificial cornea transplant.
The 78-year-old patient lost his sight a decade ago as his cornea was deformed.
After the operation at Rabin Medical Centre in Israel, the man was able to see his family for the first time in 10 years. Cornea transplants from donors have happened since the early 1900s, but this is the first time an artificial cornea has been successfully transplanted into a patient.
The procedure was conducted by CorNeat, an Isaeli start-up.