Remember THIS room? We have been seeing a fair amount of it in the press in the last few weeks.

It is one of MANY rooms in a joint called Buckingham Palace.

One week prior to Kate and Wills standing in it, to announce their engagement, guess who was else was there (in that very room)?

My darling in-laws and their fine son (not pictured because he was taking the picture).

They all went to BP so that Stephen could be awarded an OBE

OBE = Order of the British Empire

The dignified lady pictured above pinned the said award to Stephen’s lapel.

This isn’t Stephen, as Jan wasn’t allowed to take any pictures inside the palace, but just so you can get the feeling of how it went down I wanted to show it to you!

(Not bad, eh?)

I was really sad I wasn’t there. But very happy that Jan was able to be there. Here he is to give us an insider’s perspective on the event! Take it away, Jan!

I’ve never quite had a mental image to go with the phrase ‘pomp and circumstance’ but I do now. The whole thing was one of the most impressive things I have ever witnessed / been in the middle of. From all the various footmen and other associated officials in their many and varied military and other uniforms to the Gurkha bodyguards to the sheer ornateness of the rooms inside the palace, it was utterly intimidating and awe-inspiring. The ceremony itself ran like clockwork, with lots of people to tell both the recipients and the guests what to do and when and how to do it. (I’m told there was a lesson on both bowing and curtsying, with a side of walking backwards).

It all really impresses on you the significance of the honour associated with being given one of these awards, although other than the tap on the shoulders with the sword for the lone prospective knight that day and the slightly different hardware dished out, I was struck by how the formalities are very similar for each of the recipients, with each approaching from a side corridor precisely on cue, marching up to the Queen, bowing or curtsying, and then having a medal pinned (or rather hung) on them, answering a question or two from Her Majesty (who is prompted by an official by her right ear before every recipient approaches) and then walking backwards a couple of steps, bowing or curtsying again, and then marching off in the other direction. There’s an announcement at the beginning, before the Queen comes in, indicating that “no matter how great your appreciation or admiration for the person being honoured, we ask you not to clap or otherwise show that appreciation” so it’s all very quiet, with the only speaking being the announcement of each recipient and the utterly inaudible mutterings between QE2 and the person being honoured.

The whole thing was a thrilling event from start to finish, although when it’s all done you’re left oddly at a loose end, to wander about the courtyard just inside the front of the Palace, to take pictures or generally take in the view and experience.

And now, Jan, feel free to gush openly about your father’s achievement. (Dawesome is a safe place for gushing, as regular readers are fully aware.)

British men are generally not gushers, or at least we gush more modestly than is normal in these parts, but here’s a little British gushing…

The honour was officially for “services to the voluntary sector” – all the awards are phrased in similarly generic terms. But specifically, the award was for several years of service post-retirement from the business world to the charity sector. After leaving venture capital mostly behind, the first thing my dad did was pioneer a new thing called venture philanthropy, borrowing concepts from the VC world and applying them to money donated by philanthropists to charity. With a partner, he started the first fund of its kind in the UK, which is now thriving and growing with less and less involvement from him. To quote a recent article about it: “The Trust said that over 250,000 people have benefited from the work of the 16 charities and social enterprises which have been part of the portfolio since its inception.” Enough said – a quarter of a million people!

Since that was going so swimmingly, it was clearly time for something new, and so the current project is also a bit complex to explain, but essentially involves trying to help the people of sub-Saharan Africa by building up a venture capital infrastructure in several African countries. My dad has a partner again in this effort, this time one of the lawyers who represented Nelson Mandela in his court case way back when, who went on to lead a very successful Scottish bank. This effort is only getting under way now, but it’s already promising to have a big impact.

I go to the UK about every three months for work, and I always love to hear about all the latest news. That three month interval is always just long enough for more amazing things to be happening, more amazing progress to have been made, and lots of good things happening for lots of people who need help of one sort or another. I was tremendously proud when the work he’s done over the last several years was recognized in this very formal and awe-inspiring way, but not at all surprised. It’s all very well deserved!

Cool, is it not?

So how does one, who isn’t say, David Beckham (he got an OBE for “services to football”), get noticed by the Queen and get a golden medal pinned (or hung) on them?

Here is how it all works: Someone first must nominate you. Then your name and a description of what you have done is sent to a committee of civil servants. They make recommendations to the Prime Minister. The PM then sends a list to the Queen who then announces the nominations.

And before you know it, there you are in Buckingham Palace, with the Queen of England, a lorry full of her guards, a whole lot of pomp and 100 chosen few who are there to be recognized for the good they have done for the British Empire…and all of them feeling rather awed.

I love this man.

He is a good one, I tell you! Just ask Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II, that is, if you don’t want to take my word for it, chaps!

Just came across this quote from Albert Einstein:

“From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that we are here for the sake of each other – above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.”