Last night I was very fortunate to attend an evening with former hostage Terry Waite CBE at the Alderley Edge Golf Club. The event was held to raise money for East Cheshire Hospice and sponsored by Pannone LLP.
Unfortunately the evening's proceedings were delayed due to unforeseeable circumstances, Terry Waite had set off from his home in Suffolk at midday, with the intention of arriving before the rush hour, but having hit a heavy rainstorm just north of Cambridge his car broke down.
He explained "After waiting two hours for the AA, it was determined that the alternator had gone, so I had to get a hire car and then got stuck in the rush hour traffic. I was determined not to miss this evening though and certainly determined not to let the hospice down."
Following a welcome from Jayne Bessant, Chief Executive of East Cheshire Hospice, and a short address from Liz Braude, Partner at Pannone LLP, Terry Waite spoke about his time in captivity before taking questions from the audience of 80 guests.
Terry Waite is a brilliant speaker and a very wise man who had the audience totally enthralled. Whilst speaking about a very serious and moving episode in his eventful life he shared a number of amusing stories, particularly when discussing how from time to time whilst in captivity he would be moved to a new location. Each time this happened he would be wrapped from head to toe in masking tape, on one occasion he was transported in an American fridge but managed to get the tape off his hands and press the seal to avoid suffocating and on another occasion he was dressed as an Islamic woman.
Terry Waite also told us about a compassionate guard who agreed to obtain books for him, it proved quite a challenge for the guard to smuggle English books in, particularly when he didn't speak the language, but with the help of others the guard succeeded only to deliver a copy of 'Great Escapes' followed by a breastfeeding manual, minus any illustrations.
What was really remarkable about last night though is that despite being held captive for 1,763 days, the first four years of which he spent in total solitary confinement, Terry Waite has emerged without any bitterness. He really is a remarkable man who is understandably in constant demand as a lecturer, writer and broadcaster.
Roger Payne, Chairman of East Cheshire Hospice, said "Terry Waite has supported the hospice since before it was founded. This is the second time in a year that he has driven up to Cheshire to give an inspiring talk which has given insight into his experiences and thinking and which has also been an excellent fundraising event for East Cheshire Hospice."
East Cheshire Hospice cares for adults suffering from life-limiting illnesses from which there is no cure and supports families and carers throughout what is often a difficult period. The hospice receives less than 23% of its costs from government and so has to fundraise almost £6000 every single day of the year simply to keep going.
