Sir Bob of Blackheath

Also known as 'Bishop', under certain circumstances, here doing his impersonation of Lord Nelson (before the battle).

He was M.C. for 35 choirs last weekend (so I guess he heard all of them) and never wore the same outfit twice (that's eight different ensembles folks). Tonight he was back in yet another dapper selection, to sell raffle tickets at the Cancer Care fundraiser. I'm sure he did more than that, ultimately. He always does.

He did actually get an OAM in the Queen's birthday list this year. He's a little embarrassed, but secretly pleased I think. We mere serfs and pedants have chosen to elevate him to CMG (Call Me God) or simply 'Sir'.

Bob has quite a high profile around here and a great deal of respect. He never stops being useful and manages to be entertaining while he's at it. He's been known to come in early, set the chairs, clean the toilets, organise the tickets, nip off home to change and come back as debonair as Noel Coward to host the function, greet everyone by name, serve drinks, sometimes perform (characters include The Bishop, The Hairy Fairy...), be endlessly charming (and a good sport, as you see) and then turn up the next morning to scrub the kitchen, drive the truck, move the piano... If it needs doing, chances are he'll be in there doing it. We've always had a bit of trouble stopping him doing too much, but just lately he's succumbed, just a little, to the requirements of his knee and allowed some of us sprightly young under-70s to do a bit of the heavy lifting. We're rather relieved - we haven't finished with him yet.

He's a good bloke and not a bit stuck-up!