Lifetime Achievement Award from The Open Group
This proved to be a very rewarding trip and a very proud moment for me as I was the recipient of The Lifetime Achievement award from The Open GRoup.
Tuesday represented the 9th day (of 15) of radio therapy. The radiologist agreed to give me an early appointment on the 24th, postpone the session on the 25th and gave me a late appointment on the 26th.
Sue and I were in Southampton before 9am for a 9:42am appointment, before driving to Heathrow for a 1pm flight. It became apparent that they were running late, but a co-operative radiologist moved me up the list so that we were able to get away more or less on time.
Our flight departed and arrived early, so we made it to Cannes (after a very hairy taxi ride from Nice) by late afternoon.
Despite 9 sessions of radiotherapy, the effects so far were relatively mild. I did not have any "sun burn", nor did I have any additional problems with my digestion. I was having some pain from my hip and was getting tired.
Tuesday evening was the occasion of The Open Group Gala Awards dinner. For me, the evening was a little bit of an endurance test. The awards took some time and sitting at the back of the room, it was hard to see and hear what was going on.
The last award of the evening was the Lifetime Achievement Award and I was called to the stage. The Open Group had arranged for a number of people to talk about my contribution over many years, including Walter Stahlecker and Vilhelm Rosenqvist (pictured left). I had not seen Vilhelm for well over a decade so that was a great suprise. Patty Donovan, of The Open Group, who I have known for well over 20 years, also said nice things about me. Ill health prevent Judith Jones being there, but Caroline Dempsey from AtE was another speaker. A nice touch was bringing Sue to the stage to recognise her support over the years.
Even though a "Lifetime Achievement Award" sounds rather final, I was very proud to receive it.
On Wednesday, I participated in the conference, although I was a little too tired to contribute a great deal.
After a morning flight to Heathrow on Thursday, I was back on the treatment table in Southampton at around 5:15pm.