It was without doubt one of the proudest moments of my life. This evening I was honoured by the Red Cross with the Bronze Medal at a special ceremony at the Palacio de Congresos in the presence of Red Cross president Antonio Morals, Manola Cardenia and senior members of the Ayuntamiento, Chief of police Rafael Mora, Raphael Cohn Hon Consul of Andalucía for Israel. I felt very humbled as there was only 4 other recipients for this medal and they have worked for many years as volunteers for the Red Cross.

When called up to accept the medal It was stated that I was the first Englishman to receive this medal in Spain (I had to correct that in my speech making sure that the audience knew I was Irish) The medal was not only for my work for the Red Cross but also for my work over the years raising money for various charities. . My association with the Red Cross goes back over 20 years when I first raised enough money to buy an ambulance for San Pedro de Alcantara. When asked by Radio Nacional what this medal meant to me I told them that I was only accepting it on behalf of all the outstanding volunteers who have worked with me over the years and that I certainly wouldn't be here this evening if it wasn't for them, something I also included as a very important part of my acceptance speech. A big thank you to everyone who turned out this evening for the medal ceremony. The photo shows the medal itself.