Editorial for British Society of Scientific Glassblowers Journal – Oct 22.

A lot can happen between writing an Editorial and it being published and read. Time wise this is usually six weeks and little did I know at the time of creatively e juggling words would the future change so dramatically. With the passing of HM Queen Elizabeth II my comments regarding HRH Prince of Wales, Prince Charles who of course is now HM King Charles III seem somewhat flippant and immaterial. That’s life I suppose!

Getting a phone call from the Met certainly focused my attention to reflect on any possible bad behaviour. As if! Well maybe the odd symposium? Not talking about Metropolitan Opera House or even the Meteorological Office. My phone was from the Metropolitan Police, more specifically the Royalty and Specialist Protection team. This call came during another telephone conversation I was enjoying with well know glass expert and BSSG Chair Robert McLeod. I knew my place and “dropped” Robert to respond to the “boys in blue”. Except they weren’t of course. I had to meet them prior to a royal visit to an art exhibition that I had organised. The “boys” so to speak turned out to be well dressed young men in a bespoke green Range Rover. As Chairman of the Society of Caithness Artists who this year celebrated eighty-seven years of artistic endeavours, making it one of the oldest art societies in Scotland, I have met HRH Prince Charles or the Duke of Rothesay as he is known in Scotland numerous times. Amongst his many talents he paints and has a large collection of watercolours than at times he loans and this year I received two which of course I had to return. His visit to the exhibition went well, very private just me and other artists who escorted him to highlight certain works. He does appreciate the skill that goes into glassware and as it is the international year of glass then of course I drove the point home about our skills.

Here’s a little more about the loan of paintings from the Royal collection which I returned them to HRH Duke’s holiday residence in Caithness known as the Castle of Mey. This is because it’s a castle and hence protected as all castles should, by shut metal gates. I explained to the police officers in their car outside the gates (not the Met this time) that I needed to get into the Castle to hand over the Prince’s artwork. As we waited for the police to double check their records and do a character check the conversation went quiet. Suddenly one police officer turns to me and said, “are you the guy that likes tigers”? If you know me then that statement is so accurate. I answered in a surprised burst, “How did you know that”? Their reply was very telling, “Ahhh we know everything!” Surely not everything I thought as I roared away!