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Joan Bakewell |
For Dame Joan, a Queen’s Birthday honour... and a curtsy from binmen
Awards salute actor, comedienne, historian, ex-editor, social care chief and Heath boss
WHEN Joan Bakewell opened the door of her Primrose Hill home on Tuesday morning the binmen curtsied.
Under normal circumstances this might seem strange, but Ms Bakewell did not have an ordinary week.
The 75-year-old writer and broadcaster was made a Dame Commander of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for her services to journalism and the arts.
“It feels like Christmas Day,” she said. “I’ve been going round with a great smile on my face. I’ve had congratulations from all over the world, some from people I haven’t spoken to for years.
“My grandchildren are a bit overawed. They aren’t quite sure what it means. Children don’t know about dames, except for the pantomime. One of the things I regret is that my father never knew and he would have taken so much pleasure in it.”
Dame Joan described her award as “a bit of hiccup” as she concentrated on finishing her first novel, the wartime love story All the Nice Girls, due to be published next spring.
She added: “I can’t think there’s anything I want to change about my life. I’m just going to lie low a little and not make a nuisance of myself.”
She declared herself “the last person to know” why she had been given the honour, adding modestly that her 40 years in television “might be worth something in terms of survival”.
Her work as chairwoman of the National Campaign for the Arts was also cited.
Actor and fellow Camden resident Don Warrington described his MBE as a “campaign medal”.
Mr Warrington’s services to drama encompass performances at the National Theatre, the English Shakespeare Company and, most famously, his role as Phillip Smith in TV sitcom Rising Damp.
“If my mother had been alive she would have been a very proud woman,” he added.
Highgate comedienne Victoria Wood’s continuing services to entertainment mean she upgrades her OBE to a CBE.
West Hampstead author and former tabloid newspaper editor Eve Pollard was made an OBE for her services to journalism and broadcasting.
The list of Camden’s honoured is as long as it is varied. Lloyd Dorfman, the chairman and founder of foreign exchange firm Travelex Group who lives in Hampstead, was “thrilled and delighted” to receive a CBE.
Heather Schroeder, Camden’s director of children, schools and families, was made a CBE, for nearly 40 years of service to social care. She said: “I feel proud of all that has been achieved in social services and children’s services at Camden over the past few years, and proud of my profession.
Ms Schroeder, who is due to retire this summer, hailed developments in social care which have made it a “vital service” for children and vulnerable people, adding: “To receive this award makes me feel very privileged and is a fantastic end to my time here at Camden.”
Corporation of London boss Michael Snyder, the man responsible for the running of Hampstead Heath, was knighted for services to the corporation and his other efforts in business.
Professor Gloria Laycock, director of the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science at University College London, became an OBE in recognition of her work on crime policy.
Sandra Breen, an administrator at the Mary Ward Adult Education Centre in Bloomsbury, was made MBE for services to the centre and the Holborn community.
Ms Breen, who lives in Coram’s Fields, was described by colleagues as a “lynchpin” who embodied the spirit of the public education centre, founded in 1896.
Despite having left school without qualifications, she has seen thousands through adult education and is an adult learner herself.
Ms Breen, who took just a short break for cancer treatment in 2005, vowed to carry on her work at the centre.
Mary MacLeod, chief executive of the Family and Parenting Institute based in Kentish Town, becomes an OBE, in recognition of her work in voluntary and public service.
Ms MacLeod said the honour was a “wonderful recognition” of the institute’s work in championing families.
Nigel Turner, director of human resources at the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust, was “delighted” and “very proud” to receive an OBE for services to human resources management in the NHS.
“It’s a fantastic send-off,” added Mr Turner who retires from the Royal Free Hospital next month when he turns 60. The father-of-two joked that his interests in his Who’s Who entry would include “going to meetings”.
Camden Town resident Mary Burd received an MBE for her services to healthcare in east London.
Ms Burd, head of psychology and counselling at Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust, said: “Those who know me are aware of how passionately I feel about the contribution of psychology to health care and especially to its role in primary care. It has been a challenging but immensely rewarding time.”
Hilary Blume was made Dame for services to the voluntary sector, while Kentish Town cultural historian Professor Marina Warner received an MBE for services to literature. |
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