VIIIth Duke of Wellington, 1915-2014

To the illustrious memory of the Most Noble ARTHUR VALERIAN VIIIth DUKE OF WELLINGTON,

Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter,

Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order,

Officer of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire,

Military Cross.

New KCVO

Breast star, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order

Hearty congratulations to the Earl of Caledon, who has been appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in the 2015 New Year Honours List.

Lord Caledon has served the office of Lord-Lieutenant of County Armagh since 1989.

Captain Peters

CAPTAIN DAME MARY PETERS CH DBE RNR

I have found a few photographs of Dame Mary wearing the uniform of a captain in the Royal Naval Reserve.

Dame Mary Peters CH DBE

Neck badge, Order of the Companions of Honour

I'm very pleased indeed that Dame Mary Peters has been appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH).

In the late 60s and early 70s Mary Peters trained at Buster McShane's gym and health club in Upper Arthur Street, Belfast.

My father was once a member of the club and he used to take me there as a little boy, where I remember seeing Mary train.

She became Ulster's Golden Girl when she brought us home a gold medal at the Munich Olympics in 1972.

Mary Peters was appointed Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2000.

Dame Mary served the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Belfast between 2009 and 2014 with great aplomb.

Dame Mary has been - and continues to be - a tremendous ambassador for Northern Ireland.

Lock's Travel Trilby

Some time ago I watched an old episode of Poirot, entitled Murder In Mesopotamia.

That celebrated sleuth's faithful companion, Captain Arthur Hastings OBE, wore a rather fine, sand-coloured, type of fedora or trilby hat.

Now I've a confession to make: I possess a considerable of hats, including three fedoras and trilbys.

Four of my hats are made by James Lock & Company, of St James's, London.

Are any readers remotely interested in my hat collection?

After viewing the Poirot episode, I had a rummage though the drawer and unearthed one of them, a medium brim, lightweight, soft, foldable, travel felt trilby.

It is called The Voyager.

They thoughtfully supplied the hat in a white travel tube, alas impractical for my compact hand luggage:

Turn the brim down, push out the crown shape to form a dome; softly, fold your hat convex and concave; roll your hat up; put it in the travel tube, brim uppermost; on arrival at your destination always unfold your hat, then reshape the crown and brim.

 First published in March, 2013.

Notoriety!

I was in central Belfast briefly this morning.

I visited the Central Library in Royal Avenue, one of Belfast's finer buildings. I invariably admire the domed ceiling with its intricate plasterwork on the first floor.

Today I was obtaining an image of Lord Pirrie's armorial bearings as a viscount, and his lineage.

A lovely lady approached me as I was leaving and introduced herself. Lord Belmont has achieved notoriety at last!

I passed the Great West Front of Belfast Cathedral, where the Dean's annual "sit-out" takes place at this time of year.

I spoke briefly to a lady canon (possibly the Rev Canon Denise Acheson, Canon Treasurer) beside the celebrated barrel.

The Bishop of Down & Dromore, the Right Rev Harold Miller, appeared on the steps, dressed informally in his v-neck jumper. 

Passport Application

Commendation to Her Majesty's Passport Office.

I delivered an application for a new passport to their Belfast branch in Victoria Street exactly one week ago.

When I arrived home this afternoon, it had been delivered.