President’s MAA Newsletter April 23rd 2010 I am greatly honoured that the Moorfields Alumni Association has elected me to be its third Honorary President. It is no secret that when it was first suggested that I put my name forward for this, I was a little reluctant to throw my hat into the ring. But the gentle and at times persistent entreaties of the two previous Presidents, Peter Leaver and Peter Watson and the Honorary Secretary, Wendy Franks, coupled with a veiled threat of blackmail, finally persuaded me. I admit that I have always had a great affection for Moorfields where I had been on the staff in one way or another from 1965 ‐ 2010, and the more I think about it the more I appreciate the role of the MAA as it now starts its 7th year. Ours is the oldest and arguably the most famous Eye Hospital in the world and many of the greatest ophthalmologists and eye care professionals, past and present, have worked there. Moorfields is what links all of us; and our Association was set up to forge and maintain this link. I would like in this, the first of my newsletters, to pay tribute to Peter Watson our retiring President. He has always brought you up to date with the aims and current activities of the MAA and the way it fits in with the Hospital Trust, but he has modestly understated the role he himself has played in the growth of our Association. He took over as Honorary President from Peter Leaver in 2005 and since then on your behalf he has devoted much time to the furtherance of the Association – for example he has: ‐ campaigned tirelessly for a Centre in the hospital that could be set aside for the Association – a meeting room housing a museum. ‐ organised social meetings and fund‐raising events in Cambridge ‐ written alumni newsletters for the Moorfields Hospital website. ‐ guided the management committee and the membership at all times with wisdom, good humour and tolerance. ‐ in addition he has presided over the selection of the pattern for the famous tie and now the bow tie, and he even had a go at reviving the annual cricket match – something that will probably be left to his successor. Peter has of course already made a significant impact in ophthalmology by inaugurating and running the famous annual Cambridge Symposium. He has also given the International Council of Ophthalmology a reason for living by organising the Basic Science and Clinical Exams that are taken yearly by over a thousand young ophthalmologists throughout the world, sometimes more than once! And on a personal note he has remained a good friend and colleague over the 40 or so years that I have known him and he taught me all I ever knew about scleritis. The MAA owes Peter Watson a great debt of gratitude and on behalf of the membership I would like to record our sincerest thanks to him. Indeed my first act as new Honorary President at the AGM was to recommend that he be awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Association. This proposal was carried unanimously. Having been on the Management Committee since the birth of the MAA in 2004, and having served as Honorary Treasurer for two years, I am well aware of what we are trying to achieve as an association. The scientific meeting at the end of January, now in its 30th year, is an established part of the Moorfields canon as are the Review and Dinner that follow. These events always provide a rallying point, but they are held only once a year and we need other things to bind us together as a group. Peter Watson has already mentioned a few, and Richard Keeler, our archivist, has given us some idea on how we might expand and progress in the future by bringing the past and present together under one roof to form a focal point for all of us. But the success of our Association also depends greatly on what time and effort you as members are prepared to give to it and, to paraphrase the words of President Kennedy, you should ‘ask not what the MAA can do for you, but what can you do for the MAA’. Membership should be a matter of pride. Over the coming year we do however plan to give people more real opportunities to benefit from being members. Various reunions will be organized; the first one will be held this autumn for those who were on the staff at High Holborn before its closure inn 1987, and an announcement about this is attached together with this newsletter. The MAA will be offering special concessionary rates to alumni for all these events. We also plan to make at least one travelling grant a year available to any member of the MAA who is prepared to carry out a teaching visit to a post‐graduate training centre in Eastern Europe. This will be similar to the grant allocations of the ‘Triplet Scheme’ funded by Ophthalmic Aid to Eastern Europe (OAEE) in which several alumni have participated in the past. More details of this scheme will be sent out by e‐mail to members later in the year. We might even try to revive the annual Moorfields cricket match, but not until someone has discovered in which cupboard in the hospital all our essential kit is lying hidden. Many of us who no longer work at Moorfields may be baffled by the increasing complexity of the different services now available to patients and the concurrent expansion of the clinical staff. With this newsletter you will find attached an up‐date on the Glaucoma Service at the hospital written by Wendy Franks. Further up‐dates on other branches within the hospital will appear with each subsequent newsletter and when we have completely covered all that is going on in Moorfields we can get reports from the many outreach clinics scattered around the metropolis and beyond ‐ some even far beyond! This summer we will also be looking at the MAA’s financial set‐up and its relationship to the Hospital and the Special Trustees. When I looked round the room at the AGM I could see several of the audience who had worked with me in the past. I learnt much from all of them; I hope that some of them learnt a little from me and I will do my best to live up to their expectations and those of all of you who voted for me, and I welcome any ideas, suggestions and criticisms on the way we should be moving forwards. I am fortified by the fact that we have in Wendy Franks a marvellous Executive Secretary, in Stephen King a knowledgeable Treasurer, we have an active Management Committee and in Brenda Aveyard, our Administrative Secretary, we have an indispensable cornerstone of the whole Association. Thank you for your confidence in me; be assured, I will do my best for you. Tim ffytche Honorary President. . . .