August 20th 2017
Proud parents
It has been a very exciting week. Last Friday saw us all up at Sandhurst to celebrate Tom receiving his commission; he is now 2nd Lieutenant Jackson of the Royal Dragoon Guards. The Sovereign's Parade, at which the King of Jordan was the Queen's Representative, was played out in brilliant sunshine in front of Old College and was all the more exciting because Tom's platoon had proved itself the best in his year and had been awarded the honour of being 'The Sovereign's Platoon'. Two of the bottom row of photographs opposite show the platoon being introduced to the King of Jordan and then parading having received the Sovereign’s Colours.
The parade was followed by lunch in New College for Mary and me in the good company of Colonel Nick and Colonel Dan of the Royal Dragoon Guards whom we were meeting for the first time. They were delightful hosts and were clearly very pleased that Tom had applied to join their Regiment. Colonel Dan repeated on several occasions that he was particularly impressed with Tom's modesty; I smiled proudly and resisted the temptation to say that this was not an attribute of his that was prominent at home!
Tom mentioned some weeks ago that he would be inviting his brothers and friends to the Passing Out Ball that evening and not his parents and, if I am completely honest, both Mary and I greeted this decision with some relief. He might have been more considerate, however, when explaining that his decision to leave us off the guest list was that we were a bit old and fuddy-duddy, even if this is true; Sandhurst has clearly not spent a great deal of time teaching diplomacy.
The Ball allowed him to wear his Royal Dragoon Guard’s Mess Dress for the first time – figure hugging trousers, spurs and all – and it clearly suits him as can be seen in the main photograph opposite. A good time was had by all I am told, although they looked a little the worse for wear when they arrived back home the following morning.
The more recent bits of excellent news were the exam results. Alastair’s offer of three As for Durham was surpassed and he starts a four-year Biosciences degree and Masters course in October. We have not yet stopped celebrating. Harry’s very hard work last year has also paid off. His AS results – the poor boy is in the unfortunate position of being the last year-group that has to do Maths at this level – were outstanding. He has now gone to Budapest on tour for a week with the Ealing Youth Orchestra and will, I am sure, be celebrating hard between concerts.
Congratulations Tom, Alastair and Harry! |