I can still vividly remember the first time I laid eyes on Marjory. We were at the High School ball and the second she entered the hall I knew she was the one. It was like the arrival of the Queen of Sheba. She wore a shimmering green ball gown with jade earrings and brooch. Immediately I said to Jake, my friend who was with me and who can’t be with us today, “Who’s that? What’s her name? She’s the one”. And I was right!
We danced all night. I would still rate it as one of the most exciting evenings I have ever spent. And she shone in every sport on campus, whereas I was good only at the high jump. And now, in these days of sexual equality, I would like to invite Marjory to say as few words as possible.
Thank you Ewen. And thank you all for coming here. I’m happy to announce that the woman in the green sack with jade plastic earrings wasn’t me. It was Valerie Stokes. Ewen has never gotten over her. He often thinks that I’m somehow her. Indeed I am not. She is one of the nastiest frumps I have ever encountered in my life. It has been Valerie Stokes, Valerie Stokes, Valerie Stokes for forty years.
I was never any good at sport. Valerie Stokes was the one he’s thinking of. You might think that now might be the time for our high jumper to take a running leap. Well, that’s not quite true. We have had a happy forty years. And it has been made doubly happy because of the many friends we have made along the way. Ewen, would you like to add anything insignificant?
I’d just like to say that Marjory has been going on about Valerie Stokes for forty years. A leopard can’t change its spots. Here’s to another forty!
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