“I’m all here but I’m not all there…”
In case you didn’t spot it, this is one of the most brilliant dramatic lines in all English history. It is uttered by Alan Bennett’s immortal character of the king, in his unsurpassed play, The Madness of George III, played superbly by the late great Nigel Hawthorne.
I was reminded of it this afternoon, as we dutifully attended our children’s primary school End of Year Speech Day & Prizegiving. There was a myriad of prizes, recognizing all kinds of weird and wonderful achievements and they were presented by none other than the Lord Mayor of Westminster, Cllr Louise Hyams. She apparently forwent a Buckingham Palace garden party for the honour of being with us, so it’s obviously special.
But the highlight of the proceedings came near the end of the prizes:
The prize for 100% attendance and punctuality this year goes to ***** *******… who is unfortunately absent today.
Stylish.