Two of the best benefits of working in a Not for Profit organisation are the places you go and the people you meet. Last night I attended the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Awards, better known as the LALYs and the Chair of the event was Cheri Booth aka Cheri Blair, the wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair.Cheri is a lawyer with the ranking QC (Queen's Council) and a portion of her practice are Legal Aid cases. This means that her practice, like other Legal Aid lawyers, depends on the government's willingness to continue to support Legal Aid cases. The government is proposing cuts in fees for these lawyers to the point of greatly jeopardising their ability to help those most in need. These are the issues that the organisation I work for, Legal Action Group, take most seriously.
Now back to our regularly schedule programming...
The event's Master of Ceremony interviewed Cheri on stage - her first major event as the wife of the former Prime Minister. She was eloquent, passionate, articulate and willing to answer all sorts of questions - nothing like she is portrayed in the press. Her most memorable moments?
1. Answering the door in her nightgown to find it was the press taking her photo.
2. Meeting world leaders including two popes.
3. Having a baby at 45 and while her husband was in office.
4. Dining at the White House with the Clintons and being serenaded by Stevie Wonder to the tune of Mon Cherie Amore.
I think the wig takes the cake - although that's for her day job.
Photo from Wikipedia.
