Prince finds our town as right as rain

From the Swindon Advertiser, first published Saturday 1st Mar 2003.

IT was a proud day for Swindon when the Duke of Edinburgh came to give the town his royal seal of approval.

Prince Philip began the day at the new Great Western Hospital where he arrived at 10.45am in a red Range Rover.

While he did not make any of his famous gaffes during the day, he showed himself to have a sense of humour and gave the public plenty of laughs along the way.

It was a busy day, because as well as the hospital, the Prince unveiled the jubilee clock in the town centre and inaugurated the new £11.5 million New College building.

Dressed in a navy blue suit, the Prince was introduced to a host of dignitaries including Swindon's mayor Stan Pajak and Swindon and Marlborough Trust boss Sonia Mills by the Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, Sir Maurice Johnston.

A surprisingly small crowd was gathered to greet the Prince at the hospital, but he did stop to talk to a group of children from the hospital's nursery.

The Prince then embarked on a tour of the hospital, as the staff lined the corridors to speak to him.

The Prince shook off his austere image as he took the time to talk, in detail, with doctors in each of the departments he visited.

He first visited the radiology department before moving on to accident and emergency and a cardiac ward.

Everyone entering the trauma and orthopaedic ward had to wash their hands with a sterilising alcohol solution and Prince Philip was no exception. He smiled as he rubbed the sticky liquid into his hands and asked how it would come off. He was politely informed his hands would dry within a couple of seconds.

As he passed through a waiting room full of patients he joked: "So is this the famous waiting list," causing a collective chuckle from the patients.

He took time to talk to two elderly patients asking them how they were and when they were due to leave.

Audrey Arthur, 67, a retired nurse from Covingham, was delighted when Prince Philip spoke to her.

He asked her how long she had been in the hospital and how the food was.

She told him: "I am going home on Sunday and I have been here since Tuesday.

"The staff have been ex-

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tremely good and the food is all right."

Eileen Finnegan, 72, from Stratton St Margaret told the Prince: "I am feeling much better now. I have been here for eight days and I am going home soon."

Prince Philip's final duty at the hospital was to formally open it before an invited audience of staff members, people from the health community and local dignitaries.

Nicholas Godden welcomed the Prince and asked him if he would be kind enough to formally open the building.

Prince Philip replied to laughter from the audience: "That's what I'm here for."

He added: "This is a wonderful building which is clearly open, but not for a long time. As they used to say in the blitz when shops had been bombed, it is now more open than usual.

"I know it must be new because there are no prefabs.

"It is marvellous to see such a great hospital and you are now about to see the world's greatest expert in unveiling."

Prince Philip then climbed into his Range Rover to head to Swindon town centre.

The controversial Jubilee clock might not be to everybody's taste but Prince Philip did not voice any objection to it. He was introduced to Swindon council leader Kevin Small and artist Edwin Wright.

The freezing rain may have driven away the crowds because there were surprisingly few standing around the cordoned off area at the crossroads of Regent Street and Canal Walk, with the public two or three deep at most.

Colin Aston, 40, a civil servant from Greenmeadow, said: "The clock is a useful addition to a rapidly improving Swindon town centre. I don't think many people are that keen on it, but I quite like it and it is an honour to see the Duke of Edinburgh visit the town."

Tim Harris, 23, a salesman from Old Town, said: "It is great to have a clock in the middle of the town centre. It is what we need and I like the design, although I am surprised so few people are here to see the Prince."

There was some pushing and shoving, as shoppers who had little interest in his Royal Highness's visit tried to get by.

The Prince pressed a button to allow the clock, which commemorates the Queens Golden Jubilee, to chime, before walking back to his car, stopping briefly to chat to the crowd and wave.

He arrived at New College five minutes early at 12.45pm. There, he sat down to a lunch in the college library, hosted by Swindon Council.

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