Transcript

Many years ago the local borough – I think it was – sent a questionnaire around to all the sports people in in the particular institute that I was in, to list how the how – in my case – fencing had developed my life. Had it had any effect? My reply was that it has had an absolutely enormous effect. It changed every part of my life in so many ways. One way in particular is that I have a daughter who followed in my footsteps and who now been given the MBE (‘Member of the British Empire’ appointment) from the Queen because of her contribution to fencing. I’ve seen the world from one side to the other many times over because of my profession and that changes you and whatever you do in terms of travelling and seeing countries and the people. It affects your life inevitably. You do things that you would never have done without it. I am quite clear about it now and moreover, physically, the sport left me with whatever that sport did to my body during the excessive exercise in preparation. That’s really about the way my life has changed and I’m going to die thinking that way.

A journalist once interviewed me and wanted to know how I felt ‘….When you get fire in your eyes and you’ve got a sword in front of you?” I said exactly the wrong thing to him – from his standpoint. One does not want to relate to ‘fire in your eyes’; what you want is to keep a cool head and a top working brain and control the whole situation in your hand. He said virtually within my earshot to his cameraman: ‘It’s no use talking to this guy we’ll get no story out of him“, and he went back to the organization to ask the organizers of the event to get him another person to whom to talk.