The announcement that Mr Gardner would deliver the Sir Michael Weir Lecture attracted an audience of around 100, and included the present Egyptian Ambassador, three former British Ambassadors and their wives, the Coptic Archbishop, Sir Michael’s two daughters and 4 sons and many more distinguished guests. Mr Gardner did not disappoint.
Those of you who didn’t attend Frank Gardner’s |Sir Michael Weir Lecture missed a treat.
Frank Gardner is a Journalist and writer and is the BBC’s Security Correspondent.
In his wonderful book “Blood and Sand”, he describes how, a student at Exeter University,
he spent a year in 1982 living with an Egyptian family for a year.
In 2000, he became the BBC’s Middle East Correspondent, in Cairo.
However, visiting Saudi in 2004, he and his photographer were shot by an
Al-Qaeda gunman and left for dead.
The photographer died, but thanks to the efforts of our then Ambassador
Sir Sherard Cowper Coles and a brilliant South African surgeon at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, his life was saved.
Frank spent 7 months in hospital before returning to fulltime BBC reporting using a wheelchair.
Standing by a lectern and using a clicker, Mr Gardner went through a series of slides which described his residential year in Egypt from Exeter University, where he was studying Arabic. This included staying with an Egyptian Family. He praised Exeter University for encouraging language students to immerse themselves in the local culture and get to know the people and the country of the language they were studying! He therefore was able to share his in-depth knowledge of daily Egyptian life. An “illegal” climb to the top of one of the pyramids at Giza to take a unique photo of one of the other pyramids and compared this with his later time in Cairo as a BBC Correspondent. He had enjoyed his earlier stay more as he had spent most of the year in Egypt, whereas as BBC Correspondent, he was covering a lot of the Middle East and was too frequently on a ‘plane out to cover a breaking news story. He ended with a short podcast featuring more scenes and also Egyptian music. These included a fruit stall where most people thought it was still there today! A famous belly dancer! He was at all times completely enthralling. It was wonderful to see his partner and his daughter in the audience also enjoying the talk. He handled the Q and A session with courtesy and charm and spoke with many of the audience at the following Reception.
We are eternally grateful to our Vice Chairman and Patron for their continued support and sponsorship.
Sir Michael Weir was the founding Chairman in 1990 of the British Egyptian Society and continued until 2006 when he handed over to The Rt. Hon Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, shortly before his death. This, our Flagship Event, celebrates the warmth and the affection in which Sir Michael was held by his friends and colleagues in our Society.
Frank Gardner is a Journalist and writer and is the BBC’s Security Correspondent. In his wonderful book “Blood and Sand”, he describes how, a student at Exeter University, he spent a year in 1982 living with an Egyptian family for a year. In 2000, he became the BBC’s Middle East Correspondent, in Cairo. However, visiting Saudi in 2004, he and his photographer were shot by an Al-Qaeda gunman and left for dead. The photographer died, but thanks to the efforts of our then Ambassador (and a former Sir Michael Weir Lecturer, Sir Sherard Cowper Coles) and a brilliant South African surgeon at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, his life was saved. Frank spent 7 months in hospital before returning to fulltime BBC reporting using a wheelchair. He has gone back many times to Egypt and the Middle East, a region he retains a close affection for, despite his ordeal.
