Cheltenham Ball

I'm writing this post a day late since last night, I was too tired after getting my pictures uploaded and clearing out my email. This is a picture of me and Tamsin Merchant before we left to go to the Cheltenham Ball. I'm wearing a dress I bought 3 years ago for a wedding in Appleton, but I never went to the wedding because I got invited to give a talk in Vancouver about dementia and creativity. It hung in my closet and still had the tags on when I heard from Rob (Tamsin's husband) that we'd be going to a ball the first night I arrived in Cheltenham. Tamsin is an Anglican Vicar and is chaplain to the mayor of Cheltenham so that's why she was going to the ball. Her "day job" is as the chaplain at the university here.

Before describing the ball, I should say that the day began with me getting a cab from the hotel in Bangor, Wales, to the train station where I caught a train to Stafford (changing in Crewe, England). Rob met me at the train and took me to Staffordshire University where he's Associate director of the Centre on Ageing and Mental Health. We met with the director and had a fascinating talk about elder abuse and suicide. Then we drove to Derby where we met with 3 people who work for the Methodist Homes for the Aged. That was a 3 hour intense and deep discussion. We had a 90 minute drive to Rob's flat in Cheltenham, where we had about 20 minutes to get ready for the ball. It was held in a very old and beautiful building that was originally a spa for wealthy Victorians. All the men were in black tie and the women were in fancy dresses. They had tiaras for the women to wear that had LED lights that blinked but they were quite uncomfortable; the men all got black top hats. We had dinner and then there was dancing to incredibly cheesy music by a DJ and a singer -- 70s disco, 80s bad pop, and some 60s bad pop, too. But, it was fun to chat with people and watch. I sat next to the mayor who was wearing an enormous gold chain and medallian around his shoulders. The point of the ball was to raise money for the Mayor's charities and it was interesting to talk with him about how he selected them (one for caregivers, one for teens with drug problems, one for people with physical disabilities).