To all concerned:
I would like to confirm that Sir Barry Bowman did have lunch with the Queen and the Duke on the 15th of October, 2003 as he described in an earlier e-mail. He never mentioned the Palace nor that it was hosted by the Queen herself which is an entirely different matter.
I have been quiet this past year just reading the numerous e-mails from all directions but I had to draw the line when a friend's name was sullied. In all sincerity, Barry is a fine man who helped a lot of people when he and his lovely wife, Ana, were still based here. Race and colour were never a consideration as far as he was concerned. He may have ruled the London chapter of the Knights of Rizal with an "iron fist" but he did listen to others when needed. With so many different personalities involved here, it was important that someone like Barry lead it. He may have hit the wrong chords with some but his heart was always in the right place. Proof of this is that the Knights of Rizal here in London has not been able to raise the sums of money that it did during his time. In fact, during his term, the London chapter was one of the top charity fund-raisers here in the UK among the different Filipino organisations along with the Filipino Women's Association UK and the Batangas Association UK.
My only regret is not getting in touch with him sooner as we have not had any contact since he moved to the Philippines. Hopefully, with our line of communication now open, this oversight will be corrected.
At the moment, I consider myself a Knight on leave as all these brouhaha in Europe, America, and headquarters are quite disconcerting. With all sides quite intransigent with their positions, I cannot see an end to the matter soon or even later. This is that one moment that I wish I am wrong.
Sadly yours,
Peps Villanueva
London
I would like to confirm that Sir Barry Bowman did have lunch with the Queen and the Duke on the 15th of October, 2003 as he described in an earlier e-mail. He never mentioned the Palace nor that it was hosted by the Queen herself which is an entirely different matter.
I have been quiet this past year just reading the numerous e-mails from all directions but I had to draw the line when a friend's name was sullied. In all sincerity, Barry is a fine man who helped a lot of people when he and his lovely wife, Ana, were still based here. Race and colour were never a consideration as far as he was concerned. He may have ruled the London chapter of the Knights of Rizal with an "iron fist" but he did listen to others when needed. With so many different personalities involved here, it was important that someone like Barry lead it. He may have hit the wrong chords with some but his heart was always in the right place. Proof of this is that the Knights of Rizal here in London has not been able to raise the sums of money that it did during his time. In fact, during his term, the London chapter was one of the top charity fund-raisers here in the UK among the different Filipino organisations along with the Filipino Women's Association UK and the Batangas Association UK.
My only regret is not getting in touch with him sooner as we have not had any contact since he moved to the Philippines. Hopefully, with our line of communication now open, this oversight will be corrected.
At the moment, I consider myself a Knight on leave as all these brouhaha in Europe, America, and headquarters are quite disconcerting. With all sides quite intransigent with their positions, I cannot see an end to the matter soon or even later. This is that one moment that I wish I am wrong.
Sadly yours,
Peps Villanueva
London
1 comment:
Hello, Good posting.
Good luck.
Post a Comment