A bright, sunny morning on Saturday 16th of May, saw 14 fellow Apothecaries join Ann-Marie and me for the second part of the inter-London medical school charity walk.

We assembled at St Mary’s, Paddington, and set out for the Royal London Hospital. With the exception of St Mary’s, we had amongst the walkers students who had attended the other five medical schools we were visiting, and Wendy Smith had also studied at the London School of Pharmacy. We did discover that three of the group had been interviewed at St Mary’s and, having been rejected, agreed it was definitely the school’s loss!

On the first leg of the route, we took a diversion to see the new memorial garden to Queen Elizabeth II in Regent’s Park and also visited the physic garden at the Royal College of Physicians before arriving at the Fitzrovia Chapel, all that remains of the old Middlesex Hospital. A complication that day was that two large marches were being held in central London, and it was also cup final day. This meant that both the chapel and the Great Hall and Museum at Barts were closed because of security considerations, and the tour of the old Royal London Hospital was cancelled for the same reason.

From the Fitzrovia Chapel, after sharing stories about life at the Middlesex Hospital, we walked to UCH via a coffee stop and then on to the site of the Royal Free Medical School. Here, one of our number explained what a great time the first male medical students had at the Royal Free. I can say no more because we adopted a policy that what was said on the walk stayed on the walk!!!

Adjacent to the Royal Free site is the School of Pharmacy, about which we learned much before travelling on to the Royal College of Surgeons in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, passing the Royal College of Anaesthetists. All the while, the police presence was growing because of the demonstrations, and we were criss-crossing and running parallel to the marches, which at that stage were peaceful and good-natured, contrary to the press reports.

The final part of the walk took us through familiar territory to the Barts campus, where we visited St Bartholomew the Great and, after lunching at a local pub, took a further detour to Charterhouse Square before walking to the Royal London on Whitechapel Road. Just as we arrived, the threatened rain started. The walk was 11.5 miles which, together with day one, gave a total of 21.5 miles walked.

I think I can say that everyone enjoyed the walks, and there was great fellowship and fun (the first two Fs). You will recall that the final two Fs were fitness and fundraising. Everyone completed the walk at a good pace and said they felt better for the exercise — though would they dare say otherwise!

For fundraising, we have currently raised over £2,700 for the Master’s Fund, and I am hoping that, with further donations, we will reach the target of £3,000.

Should anyone still wish to donate, you can either do so directly to the Master’s Fund or through the JustGiving page.

Since we were unable to visit the Fitzrovia Chapel, the Barts Museum, and the Great Hall because of the security arrangements, I have arranged a free visit to both on Monday 8th June, meeting at the Fitzrovia Chapel at 11:30 am. We will also have the opportunity to see an exhibition of art reflecting life with HIV/AIDS, which opens in the chapel the following day.

To date, five of the walkers are booked for this trip, so if anyone else would like to join, please let the Clerk’s Office know at clerksec@apothecaries.org, copying me at Master@apothecaries.org.

With a huge thank you to all the walkers (some of whom took part on both days) and to those who donated.

David Jefferys  
Master Apothecary