"I found out I was getting honoured by this prestigious recognition for my work on behalf of children of alcoholics - and then a couple of days later I was hit with a stroke, but I'm recovering. One of those life's funny coincidences, I suppose."
"They must have thought me very eccentric in the hospital, because I sat there quoting Shakespeare monologues. There's a monologue about how a man is so infinite in his faculties and so noble in his movement and reason, and yet in the end, it's just dust."
"I'll quote Tony Benn, somebody who is not often quoted, I suspect, in Windsor Castle. Tony Benn famously said there's no final defeats or final victories, you just keep on going."
A 47-year-old former Labour MP who represented Leicester South from 2011 to 2024 received a CBE at Windsor Castle for his political and parliamentary service and charity work. Days after learning of the honour, he suffered a stroke and was hospitalized at Leicester Royal Infirmary. During recovery, he recited Shakespeare monologues, particularly from Hamlet, to test his speech and memory. He expressed concern about his ability to speak at the investiture ceremony but successfully recovered. The former shadow health secretary, whose father died of alcoholism, is a patron of the National Association for Children of Alcoholics and has stepped down from his role as chief executive of Labour Together.
Read at www.bbc.com
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