Captain Ken #18 - Lloyds List award

Recently, the world’s oldest daily newspaper Lloyd’s List, was sold by Informa the world's largest publishing and exhibition company.  Until it went online in 2013, Lloyd’s List founded in 1734 and had appeared every working day for almost three hundred years and was once known as the Shipping Bible.  I had always been fascinated by the paper started since my teenage years, and later had occasional ‘letters to the Editor’ published.

I was totally surprised when arriving home on leave from what was to be my final ship, ‘APL Denmark’, to receive a telephone call from ‘Lloyd’s List’, inviting my wife, Allwyn and me, to attend a dinner at the ‘Banqueting House’ in London.  Naturally I was only too pleased to accept, as the Banqueting House with it;s Rubens painted ceiling is all that remains of the old Whitehall Palace

The setting simply was magnificent, and we were guided to our seats by uniformed attendants with large burning flares.  

We gradually realised it was an awards ceremony dinner, and as I was not even aware I had been nominated. you can imagine how privileged I felt when I was awarded the 2004, Lloyd’s List International Shipmaster of the year, which was presented by BBC newsman, George Alagiah.  He presented a beautiful Armillary sphere which now stands on my piano.

It was certainly a strange feeling that the awards were presented in the same room that in 1649 King Charles was condemned to death by. of all people, our own Judge Bradshaw of Marple Hall; and went to the scaffold that had been constructed outside the window of the very same room.  At least it was also in the same room that the Monarchy was restored,only a few years later.