It is a renewed pleasure to be able to report upon Anne Lady Jaffray's wonderful concert and dinner which was held last Tuesday, 24th May, in the gracious setting of the Principal's House of Imperial College London, in aid of Saint John's Hospice. The guest of honour was His Most Eminent Highness the Grand Master, Fra' Matthew Festing.
Lady Jaffray embodies all that is good about the Order of Malta; with her customary and consummate ease she manages to bring together people from every walk of life of the Order to produce the most delightful and entertaining evening, which was truly a family event, with the collaboration of the Companions and the fundraising team of the Hospice, whose enthusiasm and cheerfulness our hostess was very quick to honour with well-merited praise.
This evening, sadly the last of Lady Jaffray's many annual fundraising events for St John's Hospice, among the many varied guests who included relatives and former patients of the Hospital and members of the Order and Companions, were the Chancellor of the Grand Priory, as well as the President, Vice-President and Chancellor of the British Association. The Director of the Hospice, the Matron and the Director of Fundraising were also present, a testimony to Lady Jaffray's long-standing contribution.
Lady Jaffray, following the concert, most especially extended her gratitude to Schola Baptista, the choir of the Conventual Church, for their wonderful interpretation of the early music of the Order of Malta, (rightly praised also by Lord Guthrie in his speech, who echoed the view of many present that it was a once-in-a-lifetime pleasure to hear such rare music) for their generous contribution of their talents without remuneration. It was a particular joy that they were able to offer to us, for benefit of the Hospice, several of the pieces which the circumstances of the building works had prevented them singing for their concert in our Church in the Hospital a couple of months ago.
Lord Guthrie, as Chairman of the Hospital, offered fulsome thanks to Lady Jaffray after dinner, which was graciously replied to on her behalf by the Grand Master with his customary brevity and humour, which many of us in England have come to miss. On behalf of us all, we should also like to add our gratitude to our hostess for her many years of contribution to the Hospice, both as a visitor and a tireless fundraiser, and most especially in the last few years as a very active member of the Order of Malta, and also as a friend of so many. We wish her well in her new literary endeavours, which we are sure she will pursue as tirelessly and successfully.
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