Page 106 - IDF Journal 2023

IDF News – Spring 2023
IDF Social Events
Dr Phil Batty
IDF President
One of the key priorities of my Presidency has been to increase our social offering, particularly as we come out of the pandemic. The goal is to offer a mix of events for different budgets, but also to include themes that resonate with our inclusivity agenda.
We recruited Raquel Januario to support Gwen Laryea and help her to arrange events. Corporate Members are vital to sponsor these events. Our Corporate Member Committee is now represented at the Executive Board by their Chair,
Ed Ungar, so there is clearer strategic involvement and communication.
We held the last two President’s Dinners at the Drapers Hall. Neil Haughton’s last dinner as President took place in May, delayed from our usual date in February due to Covid. We had an excellent and somewhat humbling presentation from
Dr Sarah Wookey from Medicines Sans Frontier, following our donation to support their work in Ukraine.
I wanted my first President’s Dinner
in February to be in the same venue, especially as my wife Joann, could
not attend in May (our dog Ringo was recovering from surgery!). My former patient and ex-professional footballer, Steven Reid, joined me in a fireside chat discussing his mental health challenges whilst playing in the Premier League.
We also have a keen Social Committee consisting of Mr Nick Morris, Dr Elisa Astorri, Dr Tzvetanka Ivanova-Stoilova, Dr Glyn Towlerton and Dr Michael May who are charged with coming up with imaginative ideas.
We watched the races at Windsor, enjoyed The Handmaid’s Tale at the English National Opera, went to the theatre to see The Doctor play, held a pizza and jazz night, and mastered the do’s and don’ts of wine and food pairing. We held a Black History Month quiz (I am proud to say I did not come last!)
as well as a thought provoking chat - A fireside with Phil and Lloyd: Coming out in personal and professional life.
We look forward to our future events including: IDF Golf Day, regular Corporate Member Socials, meet new member evenings, and An Evening with Sir Geoffrey Palmer. Keep an eye out for
our emails detailing our upcoming social events, or check out our calendar of events via the website.
The great advantage of face to face education is there inevitably is a social component. This was apparent in our Study Weekend in Stratford upon Avon in October and most certainly will be the case this year in Estoril, Portugal.
We are not afraid to try new things and understand they will not always be a success. One thing is quite clear, however. We need more dancing!
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IDF Study Weekend in Stratford upon Avon